NTSB to Seek Stricter Physical Exam Rules for Drivers

The National Transportation Safety Board is preparing to ask the Department of Transportation to tighten regulations on physical exams for drivers, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

A draft is under scrutiny at NTSB that would require drivers to provide more medical information in order to get a commercial driver’s license and impose restrictions on who can perform a driver physical, the paper reported earlier this week.

The changes were prompted by a May 1999 bus crash, a single-vehicle incident that killed 22 in New Orleans. A NTSB investigation found that the driver had a heart condition that should have disqualified him from obtaining a CDL. In addition, he was hospitalized for several hours before the crash for dizziness and other problems following a dialysis treatment, the paper said.

Currently, would-be drivers have plenty of leeway to seek out physicians and other medical providers who lack knowledge of DOT requirements, making it easy for some drivers to conceal disqualifying ailments, the paper said.