New Rules Remove Medically Unfit Truck And Bus Drivers From The Road

After years of being accused of dragging their feet on the issue, federal regulators are taking steps to remove medically unfit truck and bus drivers the road.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has approved a rule whereby states will be mandated to merge commercial truck and bus drivers' licenses with drivers' medical examination certificates into a single electronic record.

By linking the two, it will be easier to check whether drivers have met medical requirements to operate commercial vehicles. States will be required to comply within three years.

A registry of medical examiners qualified to award certificates to drivers has also been proposed by the administration. Examiners could be barred from issuing fitness-to-drive certificates by failing to meet minimum standards.

In a statement, John Hill, head of the motor carrier safety administration, said, "These actions will support and strengthen our continuing commitment to ensure that only medically qualified individuals are allowed to operate an interstate truck or bus. Safety is our paramount responsibility."

At a House hearing earlier this year, agency officials were severely chastised for going years without addressing the problem of medically unfit drivers despite repeated warnings from Congress.

The recently-finalized rule addresses some of a series of recommendations made by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in 2001 in response to a motor coach accident in New Orleans that killed 22 two years earlier.

The NTSB said that in the New Orleans accident, the 46-year-old bus driver, Frank Bedell, suffered life-threatening kidney and heart conditions but still held a valid commercial license and certificate declaring him fit to drive. A passenger testified to seeing the driver slumped in his seat just seconds prior to the crash.

While behind the wheel, tractor-trailer and bus drivers have suffered seizures, heart attacks or unconscious spells. These episodes have been a critical factor in thousands of serious truck accidents.

The NTSB says that many commercial vehicle drivers whose serious medical conditions are known to their employers, health care providers and others are never reported to motor vehicle licensing authorities.

Earlier this year, a Government Accountability Office study found hundreds of thousands of drivers operating trucks and buses, despite having qualified for federal medical disability payments.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee commissioned a separate study that found that fabricating medical certificates required to operate commercial trucks and buses was so easy there was little incentive for drivers to obtain a legitimate document.

"Because so few attempts are made to authenticate a certificate, there is little risk that a driver will be caught if he or she forges or adulterates a certificate," the study said.

One Ohio medical provider, contacted by the committee, said forgery of medical certificates is so routine that "no one gets alarmed by it anymore."

Along with motor vehicle safety, driver education helps ensure the safety of Americans. Whether you're getting your Commercial Drivers License, your Learner's Permit, or your Motorcycle License, America's Driver's License Headquarters is TestQuestionsandAnswears.com.

By: TestQuestionsandAnswers - nationalsafetycommission.com/alerts/

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Texas Drivers License Test – How To Choose A Good Drivers

It is becoming more common for teenagers to take an online drivers education course rather than a classroom based course. There are a lot of advantages to this, including the fact that you can take the course at your own pace and do your studying whenever you have free time rather than at a set hour of the day. You can also do it from the comfort of your own home as long as you have an internet connection and a computer. If you are going to take an online course to prepare you for your Texas drivers license test, you should make sure to look into all of the options so you can find the best course available.

The driver’s education course that you choose should cover a number of different subject areas, first to make sure that you will be able to pass your Texas drivers license test and second, to make sure that you are well prepared to be a safe driver. The course should cover all the material that is in your Texas driver’s license test. Some of the subjects that should be included in the course are: Texas rules and regulations for drivers, how distractions can cause you not to be a safe driver, what impaired driving means, how to maintain your car, what the different signs and symbols that you will see on the road while driving mean, how to deal with different driving conditions, and how to prepare your car before you take a road trip.

The best online driver’s education course will have a number of different sections, and may take a while to complete. This isn’t something that you can really learn in just a day or two, which is why classroom based courses, tend to take a number of different meetings before they are completed. One thing that an online course can’t help you in preparation for your Texas drivers license test is actually a live practice driving. Some classroom based courses have simulators you can use for practice purposes that will evaluate your skills. You will have to spend a decent amount of time practicing behind the wheel of a real car in regular driving conditions before you will be able to sufficiently pass your Texas drivers license test.

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Tips For Passing Your Drivers License Test

When someone decides to get their driver's license they want to feel confident they will pass their DMV written exam and road test.  If they've studied the handbook and familiarized themselves with the rules of the road, listened to their driver trainer they are bound to pass.   For many though they need a little more practice.  A big problem for new drivers is they do not know where to start with studying the DMV handbook or specific techniques to practice while on the road.   

For new drivers, many use an online driver's license practice test to gain confidence to pass their exam.  A DMV practice test is a mock exam that emulates the experience of taking the actual written portion of the exam, without the risk of failing and having to wait months before getting to take it again. 

To pass the driver's license test, here are a few tips that will help future drivers:

Treat the DMV Practice Test as if it's the real thing.  If a driver studies as hard for the practice exam as if it's the real thing, they will be better prepared.

Avoid Distractions.  Focus on what you learned in driver's education and just answer the test.   Not only will this help you study, but it will also help you learn the importance of being focused.   Distracted driving is fast-becoming one of the most common hazards on the road, and by setting the habit of avoiding it, a driver ensures himself a future of safe driving.

Be confident in your abilities and what you've learned.  This is one of the reasons why new drivers do not pass.  A practice test is a way for a new driver to get rid of that nervousness by getting more informed with what to expect from the real thing. 

Practing before you go to the DMV helps you build confidence by letting you know the areas you need to improve. 

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How To Pass Your Drivers License Test

Youth want to arrange for the driving force's license check therefore they'll drive legaly on the puplic streets. This is only potential when one has taken a drivers test. To pass even the toughest driving test one has to travel to a driving school or be taught by an experienced guardian a way to drive a car. The licensing tests most of the times are what one has practical throughout the driving practice. The most has to require a data check which is essentially about the protection laws when one is on the traffic. This can be terribly vital as a result of one has to take it if one includes a health drawback or a condition.

A adolescence desires to travel to the licensing workplace and raise for it the knowledge test. Questions sometimes asked are clear-cut and simple. In case one is on a road with numerous lanes, one overtakes other vehicles by using the lane which is on the so much left. One ought to not drink too much alcohol and drive. If you want to drink then one has to possess one or two designated driver(s). When you're stopped by the traffic law enforcement for dashing, you have got to concur to get a breath test. The yield symbol means that you have to attend by slowing down on your road for the other traffic. One must be five hundred feet at the rear any ambulance truck.

Another thing is that almost half of all fatality collisions are due to alcohol drinking. On any traffic normal traffic lightweight, the red light is usually on top. There's also a penalty for motorists who while not the right permit park cars on a disabled parking zone. The desired speed limit when driving in all school zones is twenty miles or fewer. Bikers are typically advised to ride with flow of the traffic. The safest place on the road is shut to or on the proper side. A person ought to let pedestrians pass when at crosswalks or intersections. Whether or not these places are marked, one is suggested to let pedestrians cross the road.

After the straightforward information test, one has to require a simple driving test. In this take a look at the examiner can be in another automotive simply observing what you are doing. The test involves how you begin your automobile, how you use the brake pedal, gas pedal and steering controls right. This additionally involves how your momentum changes to suit all the cars on the highway. Whereas in traffic, one desires to be on the right lane, use caution when varying lanes, and using signal when altering lanes. One has to observe the traffic rules and signals.

A person also has to easily stop at all the proper spots. This is often very vital in case of disaster. An individual needs to back up his automotive well and choose the right distance when driving, from other cars or pedestrians. When the tests are done one is given the results sometimes recorded on the score sheet. One only wants to get 80 out of 100 to succeed the check.

By: Bob Choat

Let loose the Force at HellRacers.com Notice out all concerning the Latest automobile models at the Sports Cars News bulletin site.

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