Last Updated on January 15, 2014 11:46 am
North Carolina’s commercial motor vehicle drivers are reminded that they must meet the federal requirement to certify whether they drive interstate or intrastate and for what purpose no later than January 30, 2014. If required, they must provide their current DOT medical card to the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles. Additionally, drivers are required to continue to carry paper copies of their medical cards through January 2015 to protect against being cited for violations.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced last week that medical cards must be carried for an additional year because some states are not yet in full compliance with the new system that will automate interstate commercial driver license records. Once the online database – the Commercial Driver’s License Information System (CDLIS) – carries information from all states, commercial drivers will no longer have to provide their medical cards to federal or state inspectors for review at the roadside.
NCDMV supplies information and a special Form CDL-MED-1 on its website to help drivers report and certify their driving. The form should be signed, scanned and emailed to a special DMV address or turned in to any driver license office.
More than 311,000 North Carolina drivers hold commercial licenses. To date, about 140,000 drivers have not yet reported their medical status to NCDMV. Commercial drivers must provide medical information that they are certified to operate a commercial motor vehicle or their entire North Carolina driving privilege will be cancelled.
During the past two years, NCDMV has notified CDL holders about the requirement with their license renewals, in the state’s Commercial Driver’s Manual, in news releases, and on the DMV website. Additional reminders about the requirement were distributed through the N.C. Trucking Association, weigh stations, community colleges, third party testers and other groups. The NCDMV has sent three rounds of letters to the state’s CDL drivers alerting them to the new requirement and currently has 25 to 30 staffers working to input data daily and 70 temporary staff working on Saturdays.
Commercial drivers must continue to provide a copy of their medical card to their employer and carry a copy with them at all times. Commercial drivers with questions about complying with the requirement should call (919) 861-3599.
