Over 500,000 Bus and Truck Drivers Collect Medical Disability But Keep Driving

By Aaron Poehler

Published on July 22, 2008

According to a Government Accountability Office study released Monday, more than 563,000 truck and bus drivers qualify for full disability benefits due to health issues, yet are still eligible to drive.

The 30-page study detailed several cases in which individuals who suffer from serious health conditions including sleep apnea, multiple sclerosis, heart problems, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder were improperly granted commercial driver's licenses (CDLs), enabling them to operate heavy trucks and buses. The report also went on to indicate that over 1,000 currently licensed commercial drivers have been diagnosed with vision, hearing, or seizure disorders, adding that such medical conditions generally preclude the granting of a CDL, and named several cases in which medically unfit truck and bus drivers caused fatal accidents.

While US safety regulators have recommended eight separate proposals to increase bus and trucking safety since 2001, including a proposal to establish minimum medical health standards for commercial vehicle operators, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has not executed any of the recommendations.

In 2006, the U.S. Transportation Department recorded around 7.3 million commercial driver violations, including truckers violating current federal medical rules in all 50 states, though Texas, Maryland, Georgia, Florida, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Michigan, Alabama, New Jersey, Minnesota, and Ohio accounted for half of all such violations. During the same year, approximately 5,300 people died and 126,000 people were injured in commercial bus and trucking accidents.

 

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