Driver's Medical/Health

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xwestcarriers

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Apr 17, 2008
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Hello All,
I am looking for thoughts, suggestions or if anyone knows of any special rulings regarding carriers/company owners rights or responsibilities regarding our driver's health.

To be a little more specific - if we the company are concerned that a driver may be getting too old, has a heart condition or any other condition that may cause them to have some kind of accident behind the wheel, can we request/require them to get a medical report from their doctor? Is that against the privacy act? Is it agasinst the drivers rights? I know that a doctor is supposed to report to the MTO if they think a driver should not be on the road, but is that immediate and what if a driver doesn't go to see there doctor for a long period of time?
But if a company has even the slightest concern about a driver would it not be our responsibilty to ourselves and others to be involved and request that they supply us with documentation stating that they are in good health and fully capable of performing their duties.
I believe so, only because should that driver get into an accident and maybe injure or kill someone, we as the company can show we did due dilligence and should not be held liable for employing an un-healthy driver.
 
I believe the current law is:

* under the age of 45: a medical exam is required every 5 years

* between the ages of 45 and 65: a medical exam is required every 3 years

* over the age of 65: a medical exam is required every year.
 
As far as i know you cannot force a driver to have a medical. Drivers are required to have a medical every five years. One thing that we have done is put in place a company policy that all drivers must provide a police report and a medical every two years and an abstract every three months. Because this is a company policy and drivers that are hired must agree to and abide by it then we can do it. You cannot under any circumstances pick and choose who should have a medical and when unless it is in place for everyone of your drivers.
 
xwestcarriers said:
Hello All,
I am looking for thoughts, suggestions or if anyone knows of any special rulings regarding carriers/company owners rights or responsibilities regarding our driver's health.

To be a little more specific - if we the company are concerned that a driver may be getting too old, has a heart condition or any other condition that may cause them to have some kind of accident behind the wheel, can we request/require them to get a medical report from their doctor? Is that against the privacy act? Is it agasinst the drivers rights? I know that a doctor is supposed to report to the MTO if they think a driver should not be on the road, but is that immediate and what if a driver doesn't go to see there doctor for a long period of time?
But if a company has even the slightest concern about a driver would it not be our responsibilty to ourselves and others to be involved and request that they supply us with documentation stating that they are in good health and fully capable of performing their duties.
I believe so, only because should that driver get into an accident and maybe injure or kill someone, we as the company can show we did due dilligence and should not be held liable for employing an un-healthy driver.
Click to expand...

I believe it is the Company's responsibility to assure that the equipment AND the driver are "healthy". If you have an employment agreement, there should be a clause in it stating that they must provide medical information when requested.
 
Driver's apparent health

I believe that as an employer, and as a carrier, you have a duty to temporarily suspend the driver from operating in any vehicles you own or allow to operate under your authority, if said driver presents any indicia that any reasonable person would also recognize, that would put the motoring public at risk, if they were allowed to drive. You cannot say what your belief is regarding any particular ailment or condition that you may suspect that is the cause of any impairment. After all, your not a doctor, just an employer who's primary responsibility is to assess an employee's fitness to drive. You can and must insist on a medical fitness certificate before allowing them to resume their duties. To do otherwise could have the potential of hearing in a courtroom somewhere, a litigator say "you knew, or ought to have known", about a driver's impairment.
CYA - big time!
 
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In terms of privacy - if you were concerned about one particular driver and wanted to get more information regarding their medical history - you would have to implement a new company policy. This policy would have to cover all new and existing drivers. Although you originally wanted information on just one driver - it would have to be a policy across the board in order to avoid any "labour board issues" if you were to single out just one elderly driver. If everyone was required to do it - I think the compliance would be alot smoother...

A mandatory medical by all operators makes perfect sense. Not only for the drivers safety but those on the road around him/her. Not to mention the company itself as an operating entity. No doubt if an accident were to occur - the employer would be held liable in some aspect.

A good topic of discussion...
 
We have retained the services of a doctor whose practise is private and specializes working with different commercial business in the east end. If we suspect something is wrong with a driver we immediately send them to see him and he tells us whether the driver is fit or not. If the driver is not fit he is not allowed to drive until our doctor says he can. If you have a doctors note that the driver is not fit to drive there can be no reprocussions to the company. Also if the driver is off with any medical condition they cannot come back to work without seeing our doctor, as you know to many family physicians will let things slip by not realizing the jobs these guys/girls do. We have had no issues, we have ended one drivers career (not maliciously) and it probably saved his life. We just sent a driver last week and our doctor sent him directly to emergency but if we hadn't this driver was determined to keep working and was on the verge of having a heart attack. The cost is minimal we retain him for $125 a month and that gives us unlimited phone calls then he has a set price limit of $125 per actual driver visit then it is a menu of services. He will see drivers for medicals etc at their expense. This is the best money we have ever spent.
 
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