News Digest DOT 148-16

FMCSA Seeks Comment on Alternative Medical Examiner Certification Process for Department of Veterans Affairs Physicians.  The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is proposing amendments to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations to establish an alternate process for qualified physicians employed in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to be listed on the agency’s National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners. After successful completion of an FMCSA-developed training and testing program conducted through the VA, the qualified physicians would become certified VA medical examiners who can perform medical examinations and issue Medical Examiner’s Certificates to commercial motor vehicle (CMV) operators who are military veterans enrolled in the VA health system. As required by the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, qualified VA physicians must: a) be employed in the VA; b) be familiar with FMCSA’s standards for, and physical requirements of, a CMV operator requiring medical certification; and c) never have “acted fraudulently” with respect to such certification.  Click here to read the Federal Register notice and provide comments. The comment period ends on January 3, 2017. Contact:  Troy Green: (202) 366-9999.

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