The Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association has filed a petition for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to resend a new rule that changes some aspects of the required physical exam for commercial drivers. The FMCSA quietly finalized the rule last month.

The final rule adds to the reporting requirements for drivers and shortens the time certified examiners have to transmit the results to the Department of Transportation. Drivers are now required to report an additional 13 health conditions, which include high cholesterol, unexplained weight loss and hospitalizations, among others. The rule also requires drivers to report their history with any of the conditions over the course of their entire lives instead of the previous five years.

OOIDA objects to the rule on several bases. First, the association contends the newly added conditions are not defined, nor are any guidelines provided for drivers to determine whether a condition is serious enough to require reporting.

“More significantly, FMCSA has not provided any connection between numerous of the conditions required to be reported and any risk to highway safety,” states OOIDA on its petition.

It is furthermore unreasonable, according to OOIDA, to expect a driver to report conditions that occurred in past decades and have no bearing on the driver’s ability to safely operate a motor vehicle.

Among the new reportable conditions are breathing problems, sleep apnea and a history of past sleep tests. OOIDA holds that including these conditions on the exam form constitutes an effort by FMCSA to circumvent a law that prevents it from implementing sleep apnea requirements without a formal rulemaking process.

“The final rule is invalid regarding its attempt to regulate sleep disorders for the agency’s failure to act in accordance with the statutory mandate that it address sleep disorders only through formal notice and comment rulemaking,” says OOIDA. “FMCSA has not done so. For this reason alone, FMCSA’s final rule is invalid.”

OOIDA’s last objection to the rule regards the new 24-hour time limit for certified examiners to submit the results of a driver’s physical to DOT. The stringent time frame means that drivers who fail their exams are unable to challenge the decision.

OOIDA has asked the agency to pull the final rule and replace it with a notice and comment period.

“The complete failure of FMCSA to develop any record in support of the changes adopted renders the rule ‘arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with the law,’” sates the petition.