DOT Vision Exemption
Topic 23947 | Page 1
I don't know what kind of exemption you would need? What is wrong with your eyes? I wear glasses and it is on my license that I need them to drive. I think I took the vision test with my glasses on and off.
Yep, i wear contacts. it says it on my CDL and i use them when i take my DOT exam.
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.
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.
Big Scott,
My drivers license states that I have vision loss right under my restrictions. I just spoke with a supervisor at KLLM and he suggested that I submit the form to DOT and see what happens. He doesn’t have experience with potential drivers having the type of restriction that I have, but has had a driver successfully receive their exemption for hearing loss. I plan on getting an eye exam on Monday. From there, I’ll go to the DMV and see if I can retest and obtain a new license with something that will be approved for driving.
When both eyes are open, my vision seems fine. I just covered my left eye and my right is blurry so I guess it’s time to wear glasses. I’m ok with whatever is safest and healthiest.
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.
BMI:
Body mass index (BMI)
BMI is a formula that uses weight and height to estimate body fat. For most people, BMI provides a reasonable estimate of body fat. The BMI's biggest weakness is that it doesn't consider individual factors such as bone or muscle mass. BMI may:
- Underestimate body fat for older adults or other people with low muscle mass
- Overestimate body fat for people who are very muscular and physically fit
It's quite common, especially for men, to fall into the "overweight" category if you happen to be stronger than average. If you're pretty strong but in good shape then pay no attention.
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.DMV:
Department of Motor Vehicles, Bureau of Motor Vehicles
The state agency that handles everything related to your driver's licences, including testing, issuance, transfers, and revocation.
Yay! I found an online form on my DMV’s website to bring to an optometrist. I’ll get a vision exam tomorrow, have them fill out paperwork and probably opt for contact lenses. Hopefully when I go to the DMV , they can change the restriction on license to something that will suit my potential employer and DOT. Thank you for your responses.
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.
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.DMV:
Department of Motor Vehicles, Bureau of Motor Vehicles
The state agency that handles everything related to your driver's licences, including testing, issuance, transfers, and revocation.
Is this like permanent partial blindness or just needing regular glasses like most people? Basically, will getting glasses correct the issue or is it a permanent thing?
I would assume as long as you can pass your eye exam 40/20 you don't need any restriction or exception for your dot medical card. I actually wear glasses but pass the test without so I don't have a restriction on my medical card, just so if I happen to smash my glasses I can still drive.
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.
Big Scott,
My drivers license states that I have vision loss right under my restrictions. I just spoke with a supervisor at KLLM and he suggested that I submit the form to DOT and see what happens. He doesn’t have experience with potential drivers having the type of restriction that I have, but has had a driver successfully receive their exemption for hearing loss. I plan on getting an eye exam on Monday. From there, I’ll go to the DMV and see if I can retest and obtain a new license with something that will be approved for driving.
When both eyes are open, my vision seems fine. I just covered my left eye and my right is blurry so I guess it’s time to wear glasses. I’m ok with whatever is safest and healthiest.
So...I’ll share my experience here. I wear gas permeable contact lenses to correct my vision to 20/30...which is under the required DOT mark. I have the same ...my left eye is stronger than the right. It cannot be corrected with glasses or regular soft contact lenses. A regular optometrist probably will not help you. Go see an ophthalmologist. It’s acmore specialized eye care but highly worth it.
Good luck
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.
BMI:
Body mass index (BMI)
BMI is a formula that uses weight and height to estimate body fat. For most people, BMI provides a reasonable estimate of body fat. The BMI's biggest weakness is that it doesn't consider individual factors such as bone or muscle mass. BMI may:
- Underestimate body fat for older adults or other people with low muscle mass
- Overestimate body fat for people who are very muscular and physically fit
It's quite common, especially for men, to fall into the "overweight" category if you happen to be stronger than average. If you're pretty strong but in good shape then pay no attention.
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.DMV:
Department of Motor Vehicles, Bureau of Motor Vehicles
The state agency that handles everything related to your driver's licences, including testing, issuance, transfers, and revocation.
My solution is to get an eye exam on Monday. I’ll probably need glasses or contacts because my right eye has a restriction on my license. My vision has never given me a problem but after playing around with covering my left eye, I can see that my right is not as sharp. Nothing that glasses can’t fix. I’ve found forms on my local DMV site that I’ll bring with me for the examiner to fill out. I’ll probably opt for contact lenses. I’ll go to the DMV and get a new license with a glasses or contact lenses restriction and hopefully that will do the trick. I hope everyone is having a great day. Stay safe.
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.DMV:
Department of Motor Vehicles, Bureau of Motor Vehicles
The state agency that handles everything related to your driver's licences, including testing, issuance, transfers, and revocation.
If you find that you can pass the DMV and DOT vision tests wearing glasses and/or contacts, I highly suggest that you buy the necessary item and get that weird restriction off your license and eliminate this issue before you go any further. You don't want to get involved with explaining this or getting a medical exemption, etc. if you don't have to, and you do not want to deal with this on any applications especially the DOT medical form. Once something is in those computers it is in there forever.
I hope you have that simple fix. Best wishes.
Hello. I’m in the process of applying for KLLM CDL training. My recruiter ran my background and my drivers license shows that my vision is not 20/20. He requested that before I show up to training, I’ll need a DOT exemption for vision. I contacted the DOT and the rep that I spoke with told me that without commercial driving experience, it’s highly unlikely that I’ll be able to obtain that exemption. She suggested that I go to an optometrist, get eye exam, correct what might be wrong with my vision (glasses, etc). From there, I should test again at the DMV for my license so whatever my restrictions are will be taken off my record. She went so far as to say that was the easiest route rather than banking on the DOT to issue an exemption.
My recruiter (and other recruiters that I’ve spoken with) are not well versed on this subject. They haven’t had anyone with a “flag” on their license to apply, but require the exemption before I show up for training. I’m willing to take the extra steps of an eye exam and trip to the DMV but was wondering if any experienced or potential drivers have had this issue before they have driven commercially?
Currently, I’m waiting to hear back from a supervisor with the company. I may not have perfect vision but my sight has never been blurred or a cause for concern.
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.
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.
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.DMV:
Department of Motor Vehicles, Bureau of Motor Vehicles
The state agency that handles everything related to your driver's licences, including testing, issuance, transfers, and revocation.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.New Reply:
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Hello. I’m in the process of applying for KLLM CDL training. My recruiter ran my background and my drivers license shows that my vision is not 20/20. He requested that before I show up to training, I’ll need a DOT exemption for vision. I contacted the DOT and the rep that I spoke with told me that without commercial driving experience, it’s highly unlikely that I’ll be able to obtain that exemption. She suggested that I go to an optometrist, get eye exam, correct what might be wrong with my vision (glasses, etc). From there, I should test again at the DMV for my license so whatever my restrictions are will be taken off my record. She went so far as to say that was the easiest route rather than banking on the DOT to issue an exemption.
My recruiter (and other recruiters that I’ve spoken with) are not well versed on this subject. They haven’t had anyone with a “flag” on their license to apply, but require the exemption before I show up for training. I’m willing to take the extra steps of an eye exam and trip to the DMV but was wondering if any experienced or potential drivers have had this issue before they have driven commercially?
Currently, I’m waiting to hear back from a supervisor with the company. I may not have perfect vision but my sight has never been blurred or a cause for concern.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
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.
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.DMV:
Department of Motor Vehicles, Bureau of Motor Vehicles
The state agency that handles everything related to your driver's licences, including testing, issuance, transfers, and revocation.