A Department of Transportation is normally charged with making the roads safer for travelers and truckers alike. One of the ways they do this is by making sure the drivers of the big trucks on the highway are healthy enough to perform their duties and will not become a hazard to those they are sharing the road with. A driver who wishes to either obtain or hold onto their commercial drivers license with have to pass a DOT physical. They will be checked to make sure their physical condition is good enough to be put in charge of vehicles that could cause a lot of damage if they are involved in an accident.

One item that will be checked on a driver is their eyesight. A person has to see well in order to keep their vehicle on the road and avoid hazards. A truck operator should expect to have at least 20 over 40 visions in each eye. Those who eyes are weaker are often allowed to use glasses to correct their vision problems, but they will have to wear the glasses anytime they drive.

One of the first things that will be checked on a driver is their blood pressure. High blood pressure can create problems for a driver. They could end up losing their license or be denied to get a license.

Drivers with a slightly higher blood pressure can usually get a certificate to operate a truck that last for a year. Those who levels are a little higher than this may only be able to drive for a few months before they have to be rechecked. Very high pressures will normally disqualify a driver from operating a rig until they get their pressure lowered through the use of medication.

Blood sugar levels are also checked by many agencies. High blood sugar often indicates that a person is suffering from diabetes and the operator may have to take medications to control it. A person suffering from uncontrolled diabetes can become unconscious or delirious when their sugar levels fluctuate wildly. One becoming unconscious can happen at any time and could be catastrophic if an operator loses consciousness while speeding down the highway.

Operators who have diabetes and are controlling it through prescriptions a medical doctor prescribes. The truck operator must be taking the prescriptions as prescribed can achieve their certification provided they are taking pills or oral medications. Those who are insulin dependent usually are disqualified from getting a certificate.

Another area that gets scrutinized is the health of the cardiovascular system. Those who are suffering from cardiac problems may not be able to operate a large vehicle anymore. One should expect to pass a stress test to see how advance the heart disease is before they can be cleared to continue working in their current capacity in the transportation field.

A DOT physical is done for each driver to make sure they are healthy enough to operate trucks safely. The agencies want to make sure there are not any health problems that could affect their ability to do their job. Failure to pass the tests could interfere with their ability to continue on in their current occupation.