DOT Physical
Topic 11186 | Page 1
Welcome Jonathan!
My first thought is why wouldn't you go for it? What do you have to lose?
We have a ton of information on the DOT physical, drug testing, and Sleep Apnea. Here are some resources:
We have our main topic page on the DOT Physical. There are a whole assortment of subtopics for it:
- Blood Pressure
- DOT Alcohol and Drug Policies & Testing
- DOT Physical - Driver Exemptions
- Eye Exam
- Hair Follicle vs. Urinalysis Drug Testing: Breakdown By Company
- Hearing Test
- Hypertension (High Blood Pressure) Guidelines & Advice
- Sleep Apnea
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
Hypertension:
Abnormally high blood pressure.
Sleep Apnea:
A physical disorder in which you have pauses in your breathing, or take shallow breaths, during sleep. These pauses can last anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes. Normal breathing will usually resume, sometimes with a loud choking sound or snort.
In obstructive sleep apnea, your airways become blocked or collapse during sleep, causing the pauses and shallow breathing.
It is a chronic condition that will require ongoing management. It affects about 18 million people in the U.S.
should I go to a minute clinic at CVS, and see if I pass a DOT physical before I apply as a student driver?
That's not a bad idea at all except you're kinda tight on money right now. If you get accepted to say a Company-Sponsored Training Program they'll bring you to their terminal and the first thing they'll do is give everyone a physical and drug test. If you fail the physical they'll simply send you home, and many times they'll pay for the trip. If you fail the drug test, you're walking home as far as they're concerned. But they understand that hearing problems, high blood pressure, and other things could cause you to fail a physical.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
Company-sponsored Training:
A Company-Sponsored Training Program is a school that is owned and operated by a trucking company.
The schooling often requires little or no money up front. Instead of paying up-front tuition you will sign an agreement to work for the company for a specified amount of time after graduation, usually around a year, at a slightly lower rate of pay in order to pay for the training.
If you choose to quit working for the company before your year is up, they will normally require you to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. The amount you pay back will be comparable to what you would have paid if you went to an independently owned school.
Company-sponsored training can be an excellent way to get your career underway if you can't afford the tuition up front for private schooling.
Jonathan asks:
should I go to a minute clinic at CVS (for $138), and see if I pass a DOT physical before I apply as a student driver?
Last year Swift charged students $40 for the physical. My own local medical group has an "industrial clinic" and they do DOT physicals walk-up style for $60. Check around.
Personally, I believe you're better off getting your own physical. Swift accepted my certificate, and I was able to skip their doctor.
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
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Amazing website! just want to thank all of you that make this a tremendous resource!
anyway,
I am 49 yrs old. Not in bad health, I don't smoke, hardly drink. I am a big man. I have very big hands and feet (size 15), big boned is an understatement. I am 6'2" and weight approx. 350 and losing. I had a vertical sleeve gastrectomy. Basically they removed about 2/3 of my stomach. I can't eat as much and don't produce as much Ghrelin, a stomach hormone that increases appetite. so that's all good.
I don't have any real limitations, I have all my limbs working as they should. I only need glasses to read when I'm tired. good hearing. How stringent is the DOT physical. I am a good driver. I just drove across the country twice. alone.
should I go to a minute clinic at CVS, and see if I pass a DOT physical before I apply as a student driver? It's pricey, 138 bucks. I am recently divorced, and I am homeless and sleeping in my camper shell in the back of my Silverado at the Walmart parking lot and that is getting old. I down to my last $700 bucks and no job. I'm in Asheville, NC and there is a fair amount of trucking here. I was a aviator in the Navy, and a Rescue Swimmer. I am a very driven person. I think I would be an excellent trucker. Should I go for it? If I had some stability, My health would improve! instead of stressing out all day.
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
TWIC:
Transportation Worker Identification Credential
Truck drivers who regularly pick up from or deliver to the shipping ports will often be required to carry a TWIC card.
Your TWIC is a tamper-resistant biometric card which acts as both your identification in secure areas, as well as an indicator of you having passed the necessary security clearance. TWIC cards are valid for five years. The issuance of TWIC cards is overseen by the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.