Canadian Drivers Unaffected by US Medical Card Changes

When the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) announced earlier this year that commercial drivers would have to hang on to their medical cards for another year, they weren’t talking about Canadian drivers. This rule change will not apply to Canadians. In fact, the Americans are adopting a Canadian style of medical fitness documentation.

FMCSA had planned to have the changes in place by the end of January, but that did not come to pass. FMCSA has decided to stick with the current system -- where U.S. drivers are required to carry a valid CDL and a medical card -- for at least another six months.

For Canadians, the need to carry a medical card disappeared in March of 1999, when a reciprocity agreement was signed between the two countries. It basically honored Canadian commercial drivers licenses as a medical card because in order to get a current provincial commercial license, drivers had to prove medical fitness. It was decided that since Canadian drivers could not get a commercial license without first passing the medical requirements, the fact that they had a valid license was proof that they had passed the medical requirements.

All that to say, any changes currently underway with the U.S. system will not apply to Canadians.

There is one exception, however. Canadians that do not meet the U.S. medical requirements will have "Code W" on their Canadian commercial licenses.

According to Heather Ness, editor for Transport Operations at J.J. Keller & Associates, drivers who have received a medical authorization that differs from the mutually accepted compatible medical standards of the resident country are not qualified to drive a commercial vehicle in the other countries.

"For example, Canadian drivers who do not meet the medical fitness provisions of the Canadian National Safety Code for Motor Carriers, but are issued a waiver by one of the Canadian Provinces or Territories, are not qualified to drive a CMV in the United States," she says. "In addition, U.S. drivers who received a medical variance from FMCSA are not qualified to drive a CMV in Canada.”

Drivers with Code W on their licenses will no longer be able to drive in the United States, so if you operate in the U.S., make sure your license does not have a Code W on it. Some Canadian commercial licenses were issued mistakenly with Code W as the system was being implemented because several jurisdiction were late filing their drivers' medical information.

If you have a Code W you feel is a mistake, contact your provincial ministry for clarification, Ness advices.