Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/757641
20 | Overdrive December 2016 Logbook Download the Weigh My Truck App. It's the fastest way to weigh! 1-877-CAT-SCALE (228-7225) catscale.com | weighmytruck.com CAT Scale is the largest truck scale network in the world and growing all the time. With more than 1,750 locations in the United States and Canada, there's always a CAT Scale open when you need one. Professional drivers know that CAT Scale delivers a reliable, accurate, certified weigh with an unconditional guarantee. IT'S THE BEST WAY TO WEIGH! DOESN'T MESS AROUND Now accepting: CAT OD 111616.qxp_Layout 1 11/16/16 11:30 AM Page 1 Untitled-1 1 11/17/16 2:45 PM The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association last month filed a challenge with a federal appeals court against a 2015 U.S. Department of Transportation rule that altered the driver medical examination process. OOIDA claims DOT slipped a provi- sion on sleep apnea screening into the final rule that was not included in the proposed version, thereby bypassing the legal rulemaking process. OOIDA filed its legal challenge with the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals on Nov. 11, seeking to vacate the rule in part or in whole. The rule, made final by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in 2015, revised the forms used by medical ex- aminers in FMCSA's National Registry of Medical Examiners and required them to upload exam results – whether truckers are certified to operate or not, essentially – to the agency the same day. The information is made available to state licensing agencies immediately. OOIDA contends that the fi- nal rule added an appendix that wasn't included in the agency's 2014 proposal. The appendix says "if the medical examiner detects a respiratory dysfunc- tion that in any way is likely to interfere with the driver's ability to safely control and drive a commercial motor vehicle, the driver must be referred to a specialist for further evaluation and therapy." The owner-operator advoca- cy group argues the provision sidestepped the legal regulatory process for requiring screening for sleep apnea. FMCSA has a separate preliminary rule in the works to set criteria for examiners to refer truckers to sleep apnea screening, but the agency is not expected to propose the rule until next year, if not later. Although OOIDA filed its legal challenge last month, its full written arguments against the rule are due Dec. 19. The group petitioned FMCSA last May to reconsider the rule, and the agency denied OOIDA's request in September. – James Jaillet OOIDA challenges FMCSA's apnea addition to rule