Letter to Commercial Drivers Announcing CDL Victory

Dear Interested Driver:

You are receiving this message because in the past you have contacted the American Diabetes Association regarding a commercial driver's license (CDL) issue. We are writing to share some wonderful news about a major victory regarding commercial driving rules, and to provide you with the most up-to-date information about these changes.

As you know, for many years there was a blanket ban that prohibited anyone with diabetes who used insulin from driving commercial vehicles in interstate commerce. In 2003, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) at the U.S. Department of Transportation replaced this blanket ban and announced a Diabetes Exemption Program to allow for case-by-case assessment of commercial drivers. Under this Program, individuals with insulin-treated diabetes would be allowed to operate commercial vehicles in interstate commerce if they met certain conditions.

Unfortunately, the 2003 rule required that someone with insulin-treated diabetes must have driven a commercial vehicle while using insulin for the previous three years before he or she would be qualified for an exemption. This "three year rule" made the Diabetes Exemption Program useless for almost all potential drivers. The only way meet this requirement is to live in a state that allows people who use insulin to drive intrastate and meet the individual state criteria. Even in those states, there is very little commercial driving that counts as "intrastate" (even if you stay within your state if the goods or passengers are on their way to or from another state this is "interstate" driving). As a result, not a single diabetes exemption has been issued since the program began, primarily because the "three year rule" was a Catch 22 that prevented most qualified drivers from even applying.

However, real progress was made last week when Congress passed legislation that will amend the Diabetes Exemption Program to eliminate the "three year rule."

The next step is for FMCSA to issue a new rule that puts into effect what Congress has passed. Under the new law, FMCSA is required to begin the rule-making process within 90 days after the President signs the bill (which happened on August 10th). In the meantime, as of 90 days after the bill is signed -- after November 8th -- FMCSA will no longer be allowed to require people who use insulin to have prior commercial driving experience.

Drivers with insulin-treated diabetes who wish to drive in interstate commerce will still need to apply for an exemption with FMCSA. The new rule will require that individuals with insulin-treated diabetes demonstrate stable control of diabetes while on insulin. Individuals who have type 1 diabetes will need to have been on insulin for two months before they are eligible to apply for an exemption, and individuals with type 2 diabetes will have had to have been on insulin for one month.

The process for applying for an exemption will not change. Information on how to apply for an exemption can be found in the September 3, 2003 Federal Register notice (68 Fed. Reg. 52441) located at http://dmses.dot.gov/docimages/pdf88/253696_web.pdf.

Visit our Commercial Drivers Web site for more information on the status of the new rules. We encourage you to check this Web site often for updates and further information. Individuals who are facing discrimination on the basis of diabetes should continue to call 1-800-DIABETES to receive written materials and to seek additional assistance.

Attached is a news alert about the passage of this legislation that went out to Diabetes Advocates who are registered with our online Action Center. If you have not already signed up to receive these alerts, we encourage you to do so. Linked to this news alert is a press release that was issued when the bill passed last week.

Many, many thanks to all of you who shared with us your stories and frustrations with the CDL rules, offered your support, and contacted your elected representatives about how these rules affected you. We would not be writing today to tell you about this important victory without your help.