Opinion: Maybe You’re Hired
b> Tim Barton
i> Driver
Some changes taking place in trucking are more obvious than others, but going through the recruitment and orientation process brings a returning veteran driver up to speed quickly — starting with changes in medical requirements that could surprise an old hand and send him packing.
A young rookie may be anxiety-ridden about road tests and the niceties of keeping logs, but the older recruit or returning veteran must worry about eyesight, aching back, blood sugar, sleep disorders, blood pressure or heart problems. Having gotten by the requirement for current experience, the older returnee must consider that his body has aged, even if he has been out of the profession for only a short period.There are no age limitations, except at the young end of the scale. But even though recruiters say, “As long as you pass the physical, we don’t care how old you are,” if the doctor examining you has recently been through Department of Transportation medical requirements training, he may be aware of medical conditions you thought might escape notice — or didn’t count on.
This happened to me recently, when I traveled from my home near Pittsburgh to sign on with a major carrier. After a day of orientation, the doctor who conducted my physical exam told me I needed a current stress test and verification from my cardiologist that I was fit for duty.
I’d had the physical the day before, but had to come back to have my blood pressure rechecked as it was a little high, despite medication. I passed it the second time and also squeaked through an eye exam — I have a lens implant in my right eye from cataract surgery. Everything else checked out fine.
The doctor came in and flipped through the questionnaire I’d filled out. Noting I had checked heart disease, he asked how long ago and what type. I told him I’d had surgery to repair four places in my heart with two arterial and two venous grafts 10 years ago, almost to the day.
He asked when I’d last had a stress test. When I told him I’d had one in 2004, he replied that anyone who had undergone that kind of heart surgery more than six years ago needed a current stress test.
I told him my cardiologist had told me my heart was in better shape now than after the surgery 10 years earlier. The doctor said he needed the paperwork to prove it, and walked out.
I got on the bus and went home. I needed to figure out how to get a stress test with no insurance. I had dropped my $600-a-month policy because I was sure I’d be working and getting health insurance coverage in a few days.
No such luck.
I also thought I’d apply to a few other major carriers and get a physical at home, since the one I had from the first carrier said “temporarily disqualified.”
I didn’t feel I was a safety risk and still don’t. I play basketball and do heavy workouts. I’m good to go, I just need the paperwork.
Now, I’m waiting for my cardiologist to get back to me. I don’t need the $3,500 radioisotope stress test, and I’m hoping to convince him a simple treadmill test will convince the powers-that-be. I have a resting electrocardiogram from two months ago, but even that is not enough. The doctors want an EKG after exercise.
Despite an excellent safety record and recommendations from all my employers, I may not be able to drive for the carrier I choose.
So I am on hold. I had no idea about the new rules. I have wasted time and money — and so has the carrier.
I lose and the carrier loses.
Sooner or later, DOT will close all the loopholes in the medical qualifications and everyone who gets hired will have to undergo a physical by a DOT-certified doctor.
It’s all about the paperwork.
Since writing this essay, Tim Barton has found work as a driver with Heartland Express, Coralville, Iowa.
This Op-Ed appeared in the November 13 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.
