The Physical Requirements For Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers
The Code of Federal Regulations specify that all drivers must be physically fit to perform their duties. There are many examples of physical requirements which drivers must pass in order to get a medical certificate certifying their qualification to drive a commercial motor vehicle. As an example, they must have 20/40 vision or better without corrective visions, they must have ability to recognize colors; they must have no clinical diagnosis of alcoholism and no history of drug abuse; they must have no impairment of a hand or finger which interferes with power grasping and no impairment of an arm, foot or leg which interferes with the ability to perform the normal tasks associated with operating a commercial motor vehicle; they must have no clinical diagnosis or clinical history of epilepsy and must have no mental, nervous, organic or functional disease or psychiatric disorder.
While there are other physical requirements set forth under the Code of Federal Regulations, these are the major ones which all motor vehicle carriers for hire must observe prior to hiring a driver. Failure to verify that a driver meets these required qualifications can result in liability for negligent hiring should an accident involving an unqualified driver later occur.
