Profile For Phantom_Pain

The first step is to call the regional representative and address all your questions. I hate to say don't trust the company you're going to go work for but don't trust the company you are going to go work for. The reason being they don't deal with the spe certificate enough to understand and know the whole process they also don't understand or know about new changes to the policies how the policies work or things like that. When I started with night I was told the same thing that you're being told by CR England when I got to night they knew nothing about how any of it worked and I had to do all the leg work myself. Truth be told I had I not worked as hard as I did and stayed on the phone in contact with FMCSA night was going to release me from the program because they wanted nothing to do with it.

Finally someone here that has been through this bureaucratic sh*t mess just to get a CDL. In my case I have been thinking about trucking as a career but recently I have been denied driving jobs that didn't require a CDL because the vehicle whether it be a van or pickup, has a DOT number on it.

Maybe you might have some insight to my problem. I am about to be considered for employment driving one of those straight trucks, not equipped with air brakes. In fact anyone with a regular drivers license can rent and drive these trucks from a truck rental place such as U-haul. Earlier this year I wasn't able to drive a Ford van for FedEx because the medical examiner who issued me a DOT card said I need a SPE for it to be valid due to my prosthetic leg. My prosthetic leg is my left leg so I don't need any special modifications to drive a vehicle with an automatic transmission and I can even drive a manual transmission.

My question is do you know if there is any way around this road block such as some kind of waiver that can be obtained for situations such as this? I just can't see the justification to go through all that bureaucratic mess to drive a vehicle that doesn't even require a CDL to operate.

I am not a driver yet myself but I do have time to do some research. According to the FMCSA they have already given out over 3000 SPE certificates. Apparently there are only two places in the country that can do the evaluation for you. (Matteson, IL and Atlanta, GA) The following link is to the FMCSA web site concerning your issues. SPE certificate program Best of luck to you...

Thanks Bill F. Unfortunately, me having to go to Georgia or Illinois is going to complicate things but, I do have a friend in Chicago so I might just go and do the evaluation there.

Greetings,

I am new to this forum and have recently considered a career in trucking as my other options have turned into anything but options.

Now in case you haven't already figured out by the title of this thread and my forum handle, I have a prosthetic limb. I lost my left leg below the knee in a motorcycle accident many moons ago. I have been doing a non-CDL driving job for a well known auto parts company up until recently. My working hours got cut from 40 a week to 30, then to 25 hours, so with some money saved up I said "enough of this ****" and set out to find better work. My hours being slashed was all thanks to the un-Affordable Healthcare Act and the criminal corrupt politicians that passed it who know better on how to manage my life than I do. After quitting that job I applied at FedEx home delivery for a job in which I would be driving a Ford E150 delivery van that anyone with a standard drivers license can drive. I got sent to Concentra for my DOT physical and drug screen. The medical examiner tells me when he is filling out my DOT medical card that it is only valid when accompanied by an SPE certificate.

I was upset upon hearing this(didn't get the job because of it) and asked why I needed a SPE certificate to drive a van which isn't a commercial vehicle or requires a CDL to operate. I was told that because these vans I would be driving have DOT numbers on them and sometimes transport hazardous materials, that I would need an SPE certificate. What that has to do with my leg being prosthetic and me driving a van with a magical DOT number is completely mind boggling. Even more so since I drive a pickup truck daily with my prosthetic leg and no restrictions on my drivers license. More bureaucratic BS red tape courtesy of the idiots in our government making up more of these "this will keep you safe" regulations I guess.

So I have done some looking around about the SPE certificate and other than people posting links to the FMCSA website about the SPE certificate requirement for people like me, I can't actually find anyone who has been through the process. The FMCSA has a national registry of certified medical examiners on the website so I called one local to me. They are an occupational health clinic. I told them that I am looking to get a medical evaluation so I can get my SPE and then start training to get my CDL license. They tell me they that they don't do those and couldn't recommend me to an office who might. Called a few other places with the required board certified Orthopedic/Physiatrist doctors and they have no clue what an SPE certificate is.

So now that you have read some about my background, is there anybody on this forum that has gone through the process of getting and SPE certificate? I can't find anyone elsewhere who has gone through the process and I am beginning to think that no one has at this point. Whoever has gone through the process should get some kind of medal of recognition or prize haha.