FMCSA Streamlines Process for Individuals with Properly Managed Diabetes to Operate CMVs
"This final action delivers economic savings to affected drivers and our agency and streamlines processes by eliminating unnecessary regulatory burdens and redundancy," said FMCSA Administrator Raymond P. Martinez. "It's a win-win for all parties involved."
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has published a final rule revising federal regulations permitting individuals with a stable insulin regimen and properly controlled insulin-treated diabetes mellitus (ITDM) to be qualified to operate commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce. Previously, individuals with ITDM were prohibited from driving CMVs in interstate commerce unless they obtained an exemption from FMCSA.
The DOT agency's announcement said the rule "removes major administrative and financial burdens for this population of CMV operators while maintaining a high level of safety."
The rule will allow a certified medical examiner to grant an individual with ITDM a Medical Examiner’s Certificate, MCSA-5876, for up to 12 months. To do so, the treating clinician – the health professional who manages, and prescribes insulin for, treatment of the individual’s diabetes – provides the ITDM Assessment Form, MCSA-5870, to the certified medical examiner indicating that the individual maintains a stable insulin regimen and proper control of his or her diabetes. The certified medical examiner is then responsible for determining whether the individual meets FMCSA's physical qualification standards and can operate CMVs in interstate commerce.
"This final action delivers economic savings to affected drivers and our agency and streamlines processes by eliminating unnecessary regulatory burdens and redundancy," said FMCSA Administrator Raymond P. Martinez. "It's a win-win for all parties involved."
The rule will eliminate the exemption program that currently requires individuals with ITDM to incur recurring costs to renew and maintain their exemption, and the agency estimates this will save the nearly 5,000 individuals with ITDM who currently have exemptions more than $5 million per year more than what they would endure under the exemption program. The final rule also offers savings for new ITDM exemption applicants and their associated motor carriers, as well as FMCSA itself, which will save more than $1 million per year in the next three years on the costs associated with administering the diabetes exemption program.