On July 28, 1992, the Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) ruled:
"...the FHWA has decided that other health care professionals, including doctors of chiropractic, should be permitted to perform the driver physical examination, if they are authorized under state law to conduct such examinations and are proficient in the use of, and use, the medical protocols necessary to adequately perform the physical examination...
"...There is sufficient justification to permit... DCs and other health care professionals to make the driver medical qualification determination and sign the physical examination form and the medical examiners certificate."
The FHWA stated their action properly reflects state licensure law and the "wide acceptance of these professionals by the public, health care facilities, MDs, and DOs."
Since April 1990, when the FHWA took the proposal under consideration, the ACA initiated a broad-based letter writing campaign. In a May 21, 1990 letter to the FHWA, ACA's Executive Vice President J. Ray Morgan wrote: "The physical examination required by the FHWA is virtually indistinguishable from those the DC is trained and licensed to perform. Concerns over the inability of DCs to identify conditions which could disqualify persons from serving as commercial vehicle drivers should be dispelled by the fact that legal requirements demand sufficiency in differential diagnosis."
Reeve Askew, D.C., ACA board member commented that the DOT's action shows the opportunities for the profession's recognition at the federal level.
