Medical Card Merger, NHTSA Crash Report, Flu Season
Medical Card/CDL Merger. The FMCSA has issued a rule which merges the driver’s CDL and the Medical Examiner’s Certificate. Under this new rule, all CDL holders must supply information about the type of driving that they do and the status of their medical certificate to their state driver licensing agency. Please note that this is a self-certification and that you are responsible do this process…not the medical examiner or the motor carrier. Even if you have a CDL but are not currently employed as a driver, you must follow this. This includes a mechanic, dispatcher, or office worker who holds a CDL. The deadline for compliance with this rule is 30 Jan 2014. The end result is that after 30 Jan 2014 an interstate driver will no longer have to carry a copy of his medical examiner’s certificate. Under the new system, the Motor Vehicle Enforcement Agencies will have access to your medical information when running your MVR.
Cold and Flu Season. If you are taking prescription drugs, over the counter medication, or homeopathic remedies you need to be aware of the interaction and interdiction of the medicines. If you are under the care of more than one doctor or health provider, you need to inform each of them the medicines that you are currently taking. For more information, consult with your pharmacist or a drug interaction/interdiction guide. For example, suppose that you have the flu and your symptoms include headache, upset stomach, and soar throat. So you opt to treat the headache and sore throat with aspirin and your upset stomach with Pepto-Bismol®. This could cause hemorrhaging because the Pepto-Bismol® also contains aspirin.
Here are a few interaction/interdiction concerns:
- The antibiotic “Erythromycin” can loose its effectiveness if you drink fruit juice or wine.
- Another antibiotic “Tetracycline” can decrease the absorption of Vitamin B12.
- Hypertension drugs known as “Alpha Blockers” should be taken with food to avoid an excessive drop in blood pressure.
- Hypertension drugs known as “Beta Blockers” should be taken on an empty stomach since some foods can cause dizziness and drop of blood pressure.
- The asthma medicine “Theophylline” has high levels of caffeine and drinking caffeinated beverages such as coffee, tea, or pop can cause a toxic reaction. Additionally, carbohydrates and other foods can reduce the rate of the drugs absorption.
- Time released Over the Counter medications such as Contact® should never be taken with medications that contain alcohol. Alcohol actually removes the time release mechanism on the tiny time capsules which causes you to get a sudden dose of the medication that was supposed to be released over the course of 12 or 24 hours.
- Antacids interfere with the absorption of different minerals and should be taken one hour before or after eating.
NHTSA Crash Report. NHTSA (National Highway Transportation Safety Administration) has published its 2012 report for big truck crash fatalities. Their figures show that there was a 3.7% increase in the number of fatalities from the 2011 statistics. Their report does not include any percentages of fatalities per million miles traveled which would be a more accurate picture of crash data and perhaps a better number.