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MEDICAL EXAM RULING FAVORS KNIGHT-SWIFT
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA) has granted Arizonabased
Knight-Swift Transportation a temporary
exemption from the requirement that motor
carriers rely on motor vehicle records (MVRs)
as proof of a driver’s medical qualifications
as a condition of employment, according to a
November 4 notice on the Federal Register. The
exemption took effect December 4, 2020, and
expires November 4, 2025.
Under the exemption, Knight-Swift can
require newly hired commercial driver’s
license (CDL) holders to undergo a complete
medical examination; the company would rely
on the MVR for drivers’ later annual reviews.
Knight-Swift first applied for the exemption
March 8, 2016, citing the “prohibitive” cost
of obtaining MVRs. According to a second
application, submitted October 16, 2019, the
2016 application “languished for over three
years” without being reviewed and processed.
FMCSA on December 23, 2019, published
a notice of the application, requesting public
comments.
According to the most recent Federal
Register notice, FMCSA received three
comments from individuals, all of which
opposed granting the exemption. After
reviewing the comments, along with the
application, which included supporting data,
FMCSA granted the exemption, noting that the
agency believes that “allowing Knight-Swift
to rely on its records of medical certificates
for the first year of employment for newly
hired drivers would not compromise safety
or enforcement of the medical certification
requirements for CDL holders.”
In its application, Knight-Swift provided
data on a sample pool of 5,722 newly hired
drivers with valid two-year medical cards.
After undergoing the hiring process, 19% of
the sample pool drivers were downgraded
to a one-year certification and 2.1% were
disqualified. Knight-Swift did not indicate
whether it knew if these drivers (those holding
a CDL) provided the new certification to
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has granted a temporary exemption to Knight-Swift Transportation
allowing the carrier to require newly hired drivers to undergo a qualifying medical exam.
the state driver licensing agencies (SDLAs)
issuing their licenses. To ensure an equivalent
level of safety, Knight-Swift proposes to
include in the driver qualification file the
newly hired driver’s medical examination
report in lieu of obtaining a second MVR.
Under the temporary exemption, Knight-
Swift is subject to the following terms and
conditions:
• The carrier must maintain the initial MVR
reviewed prior to hiring the driver showing
the driver was medically certified by a health
care professional on the agency’s National
Registry of Certified Medical Examiners;
• The medical examiner’s report the
company will rely upon for the first year of
employment must be prepared by a health
care professional on the agency’s National
Registry of Certified Medical Examiners
and be available for inspection by federal
or state enforcement personnel during an
investigation or compliance review; and
• Knight-Swift must obtain reliable proof
that the new medical examiner’s certificate was
provided by the driver to the SDLA and include
such proof in the driver qualification file.
In addition, the carrier must provide a
quarterly report to FMCSA about newly hired
drivers whose two-year medical certificate is
downgraded to a shorter term or are medically
disqualified after completing the companymandated
medical exam. This report must
include:
• Driver’s full name;
• CDL number and state of issuance;
• Medical examiner’s name and FMCSAissued
National Registry identification number
for the examination recorded on the MVR
prior to the Knight-Swift medical exam;
• Examination date and expiration date for
the medical exam noted on the MVR;
• Knight-Swift medical examiner’s name
and FMCSA-issued National Registry
identification number; and
• Knight-Swift examination date and
expiration date for the medical exam.
AGRICULTURE, FROM PAGE 9
the meaning of these existing definitional terms to ensure that the HOS exemptions are
utilized as Congress intended.
“Our nation’s farmers and agriculture haulers will benefit from this clarification
of the rules and will be able to deliver their products in a safer and more efficient
manner,” said FMCSA’s Deputy Administrator Wiley Deck. “These improved rules
will help farmers move commodities and get food to our grocery stores. We have heard
the concerns from our farmers and ag haulers and we’ve worked closely with USDA
and the industry to provide regulatory clarity and craft this new rule.”
FMCSA said it is continuing to work closely with the USDA to eliminate
confusion and further align the agencies’ interpretations of agricultural
commodity definitions.
The agriculture industry
is vital to our nation,
and this new rule will
provide clarity and offer
additional flexibility to farmers
and commercial drivers, while
maintaining the highest
level of safety.”
— ELAINE L. CHAO
U.S. SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION
10 TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY | www.Truckload.org TCA 2021