Compliance
Overview
For many drivers, "compliance" means work and hassle without compensation. At National Flatbed, our goal is to ensure your safety and the safety of those around you, to stay abreast of new requirements, to ensure compliance as a company, and to make it all as easy on you as possible.
Below you will find helpful resources on some of the many programs and requirements that affect you. Learning is a constant in compliance, so if you would like to see any additional topics covered below, please send your input to admin@nationalflatbed.com.
FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse
The Clearinghouse is an electronic database for information about CDL-holder drug and alcohol violations, test refusals, and return-to-duty processes. The FMCSA put it into place to deal with the issue of CDL-holders who have violated federal drug and alcohol rules lying about those results in order to get a job with another motor carrier.
As a company, we are required to report DOT drug and alcohol violations and information regarding return-to-duty processes. We are also required to query (i.e. request information from) the Clearinghouse for new hires and annually for all employees.
There are two-kinds of queries:
- Limited Queries: Done once a year for each driver. A limited query simply asks if there is a record for the driver in the database. If there is, then a full query must be performed.
- Prior to the company performing a limited query, the driver must sign the Limited Query Consent Form. This form allows National Flatbed to perform limited queries throughout a driver's employment.
- Full Queries: Done at the pre-employment stage and each time a limited query returns a "Full Query Required" result. Unlike the limited query, each full query requires consent given through a driver's account with the Clearinghouse, which means that a driver needs to register for the Clearinghouse in order for the full query to be performed.
- For current drivers, registration in the Clearinghouse is not required. However, new hires are required to register for the Clearinghouse so that a pre-employment full query can be performed prior to their first day of work.
Three educational resources are attached on the left for your use:
Top: Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse Fact-sheet
Middle: Clearinghouse Driver Brochure
Bottom: Responding to Consent Requests
Additional educational material also available on the Clearinghouse Website. Check out the Clearinghouse FAQs here.
Clearinghouse-Factsheet.pdfClearinghouse-Brochure-Driver-web.pdfResponding-to-Consent-Requests (2).pdfDOT Medical Exams
All commercial drivers of vehicles in interstate commerce with a maximum gross vehicle weight rating of over 10,000 pounds are required to obtain and maintain a valid Medical Examiner's Certificate (MEC).
This certificate is obtained through undergoing and passing a Department of Transportation Physical Examination, conducted by a licensed "medical examiner" listed on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) National Registry.
Once obtained, CDL holders must provide their State Driver Licensing Agency with a copy of their ME Certificate.
A DOT physical exam is valid for up to 24 months. The medical examiner may also issue a medical examiner's certificate for less than 24 months when it is desirable to monitor a condition, such as high blood pressure.
AZDOT CDL Medical Status Verification
Real ID Deadline - 10/01/2020
The REAL ID Act established minimum security standards for state-issued driver's licenses and identification cards and prohibits Federal agencies from accepting for official purposes licenses and identification cards do not meet these standards.
After 10/01/20, you will be required to use a Real ID compliant ID to access all military and federal government installations.
Please look at the helpful resource provided by PrePass for more information about the REAL ID and how it impacts you. Also, check out the links below for more information on the REAL ID and obtaining an AZ Travel ID.
Everything You Need to Know About REAL ID.pdf