Profile For Bob L.

FYI - I went thru orientation with Knight a few weeks ago, they did the Hair Follicle test on me using armpit hair, which allows them to go further back. The hair on my head was long enough for them to go back 90 days. They say they go back a full year; based on my experience, I believe them...

If you're at the school in Indy, Kenny can get you lined out on shifting in about 15 minutes on the road.

I'm in Phoenix...

Haven't posted in a while, sooo.... after moving out west, I updated my application with Knight, and the process moved along very quickly. I completed their orientation, was officially hired yesterday, and started range training today; already did a straight back, offset back to both sides, and parallel park - didn't say I did them well, but the trainer said I was doing ok. He was happy to see me on the pad today, all the other 'noobs' in my class are starting on Tuesday (today was optional). I'm also going in tomorrow, a more senior guy who's currently on the pad is going over his pre-trip, and asked me if I wanted to come in. Thought I'd throw a few things out there -

1. The class I was in lost at least 3 people right before the drug test, and I think Knight may indeed be going back a full year - I had 90 days worth of head hair, about 2 inches long - they took armpit hair from me, and I believe most others in my group as well;

2. Knight is also moving toward a fleet of all automatic transmissions, that's all they are buying right now (I think I heard about 2 more years and they should have very few manuals left...);

3. First day impression - Hope I get an Automatic early on, shifting is kicking my @$$...lol

I'm moving to Phoenix in the next few days; it's my understanding that there are a lot of 'western 11' regional opportunities out there (I'm actually more interested in running all 48, at least to begin with); not sure if this means anything, but it seems that a lot of companies have terminals in Phoenix, mostly in the southwest corner of the Metro area - I believe most of them are in a suburb called Tolleson

Brandon, if you don't mind me asking, what area do you live in? This post piqued my interest in Navajo, plus I have an upcoming move to Phoenix very soon (like, I should be there by April 17th...); just haven't decided if I'm going to take Prime's training or go to driving school...

Brent, I haven't been looking as long as you, but I've observed the same thing - all the company-sponsored training ( I assume that's what you mean by train-to-hire ) is not done anywhere near our area. Also, my experience (limited as it has been) is that many companies won't take people like you and I that live in MA - Swift, Knight, and Roehl all turned me down, and living in MA was given as the reason (MA requires CDL holders to have 2 years experience and a current CDL job in order to transfer, otherwise you have to test all over again - I guess there have been issues with people getting the CDL in the state where the training is done, but failing the tests needed to transfer). Prime has accepted me, and is OK with me taking a longer-than-usual time to report due to an upcoming move to Arizona (the move date is this Saturday, BTW) - Arizona is a 'pay the transfer fee, get your CDL' type state

Sorry if this is beating a dead horse, but I happened across this link Blood Pressure returned to normal, off meds

This is a concern for me primarily because I have been accepted at Prime for CDL training, but my BP goes slightly above 140/90 from time to time; with my luck, it'll be high, and Prime requires 140/90 or below...

David's issue would most likely be with the bottom number - the regs call for BELOW 140/90, and whichever number is more 'out of spec' is most likely going to be the determining factor. By having EXACTLY 130/90, David is technically in stage 1 hypertension (according to the guidelines)

Sounds like you have at least 2 cases yourself of an examiner not following the regs - either not knowing them, or not caring (the 3-month is fairly obviously the latter, since you showed him the guidance)

If your BP is controlled BY MEDICATION - then you can only get a 1 year cert.

Hypertension § 391.41(b)(6)

A person is physically qualified to drive a commercial motor vehicle if that person:

Has no current clinical diagnosis of high blood pressure likely to interfere with ability to operate a commercial motor vehicle safely. Hypertension alone is unlikely to cause sudden collapse; however, the likelihood increases when target organ damage, particularly cerebral vascular disease, is present. This regulatory criteria is based on FMCSA's Cardiovascular Advisory Guidelines for the Examination of CMV Drivers, which used the Sixth Report of the Joint National Committee on Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (1997).

Stage 1 hypertension corresponds to a systolic BP of 140-159 mmHg and/or a diastolic BP of 90-99 mmHg. The driver with a BP in this range is at low risk for hypertension-related acute incapacitation and may be medically certified to drive for a one-year period. Certification examinations should be done annually thereafter and should be at or less than 140/90.1f less than 160/100, certification may be extended one time for 3 months.

A blood pressure of 160-179 systolic and/or 100-1 09 diastolic is considered Stage 2 hypertension, and. the driver is not necessarily unqualified during evaluation and institution of treatment. The driver is given a one time certification of three months to reduce his or her blood pressure to less than or equal to 140/90. A blood pressure in this range is an absolute indication for antihypertensive drug therapy. Provided treatment is well tolerated and the driver demonstrates a BP value of 140/90 or less, he or she may be certified for one year from date of the initial exam. The driver is certified annually thereafter.

A blood pressure at or greater than 180 (systolic) and 110 (diastolic) is considered Stage 3, high risk for an acute BP-related event. The driver may not be qualified, even temporarily, until reduced to 140/90 or less and treatment is well tolerated. The driver may be certified for 6 months and biannually (every 6 months) thereafter if at recheck BP is 140/90 or less.

Annual recertification is recommended if the medical examiner does not know the severity of hypertension prior to treatment. An elevated blood pressure finding should be confirmed by at least two subsequent measurements on different days.

Treatment includes nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic modalities as well as counseling to reduce other risk factors. Most antihypertensive medications also have side effects, the importance of which must be judged on an individual basis. Individuals must be alerted to the hazards of these medications while driving. Side affects of somnolence or syncope are particularly undesirable in commercial drivers.

Secondary hypertension is based on the above stages. Evaluation is warranted if patient is persistently hypertensive on maximal or near-maximal doses of 2-3 pharmacologic agents. Some causes of secondary hypertension may be amenable to surgical intervention or specific pharmacologic disease. (See Cardiovascular Advisory Panel Guidelines for the Medical Examination of Commercial Motor vehicle Drivers at: http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rulesregs/ medreports.htm)

Rick

If I read this right, if someone comes in with David C's numbers (130/90) a second year, they would get another 1 year card; however, if the lower number shows any increase (130/91 or higher), that person would get a 3-month card. This is based on my reading of the section pertaining to Stage 1 hypertension -

"Certification examinations should be done annually thereafter and should be at or less than 140/90.1f less than 160/100, certification may be extended one time for 3 months."

In other words, the answer to David's question is 'yes - once your blood pressure disqualifies you from getting a 2-year card, you will never be able to get a 2-year card'. The only thing that's a bit ambiguous is the inclusion of the word 'should' in the part of the Stage 1 section that I quoted (now I feel like Bill Clinton trying to explain what 'is' means, lol...)