Dot card and ADHD meds

ADHD meds are not a problem. I was diagnosed as a child. You are protected by multiple disability acts. You just have to let the people at the drug test office know that you are using it. In the past, I also let my employers know so that there would be nothing unexpected. It does show up originally as positive, however, as long as you are clear about it, you should not have a problem. They will not reveal to your employer that you had a positive test when you let them know and they share the results. ** To the best of my knowledge. There is nothing illegal or dangerous with taking prescribed ADHD meds as a commercial vehicle operator. However, I stopped taking them due to the fact that I was upping my dosage too much and it wasn't very good to be taking it working long weeks because it builds too high a tolerance in your system. It was losing effectiveness in me so I had to refrain from it. Now I just medicate with caffiene when necessary. Not the same thing, but it does help my focus a bit. I only tried these drugs briefly and they were not for me, in all honesty.

People should understand these are very low doses of the chemical, and do not have the effect that they are thinking. They just increase focus and help you stay on track with things. They do not get you high, and especially not in the doses that we take. We only have a limited number of pills so it is not advantageous to take them in a way to "get high" while driving. And, that is also illegal and would constitue impaired driving, as we are only permitted to take the drug within the prescribed dosage. The drug tests do in fact determine the levels of usage so you cannot take more than prescribed and pass.

Anyways, I have not had any problems, it also helps that I am very very much so recognizable ADHD in the wild. Everybody seems to recognize that I have learning disorders, so they don't even question it's legitimacy. I am a very bouncy boi

Cheers,

Troy

 

You're in Canada though. ADHD is a big no-no for drivers here in the USA.

 

Is that really true? Dang if so.

I have read in the past that it was protected by the ADA and that employers could not discriminate based on this. I have just edited my statement a bit to add more detail. Thanks for sharing. That sucks if it is that much of a hassle..... I hope it gets easier for you drivers down south of the line. Sounds pretty unfair to me.

 

ADHD probably is protected by the ADA, but there's legal limits to that. A person with Parkinsons can't be an eye surgeon and that isn't discrimination.

 

I took ADHD meds on and off for most of the 20 years I was a bus driver. All I needed to do was show my prescription to the DOT doc and/or the random drug folks. I never had a problem getting a medical card, or with an employer.

 

True.

But I will say that I have 7 years experience driving commercial accident free. Have done all sorts of things from oversized loads, B trains (and can back them!) Mountain/ winter driving, eastern US, Most of Canada. I Am a safe operator and have had 0 incidents ***(OK, except for one when I was BRAND NEW at Flatbed and trained improperly). ADHD people tend to pay alot more attention to smaller details and focus on safety quite a bit. I have a strong hyper focus on it, actually. It is true that our memory is worse, but the meds do improve that quite a bit. There are also other factors we use to help ourselves stay safe, such as repetition in our learning style. ADHD is something that can be managed, never cured but with the right level of interest and hyper focus, we can be excellent operators. Another example is how people with Autism can be a great operator. I have met many people with this brain difference and they are excellent. The guy I met was actually a tanker operator for the Alberta oilfield. He was highly knowledgeable and safe. Learning disorders DO NOT, and should not disqualify from becoming an operator in my opinion because we are very passionate about what we do so we are knowledgeable in it. If that makes sense. Again, little details become important with our brain structures.

Another advantage we have is that we are so highly aware of how dangerous it is for us to become complacent. So basically, we are very focused on it and are aware of what it is doing. Like we pay the upmost attention to being the best we can because things like using our phone while driving is downright impossible. So we don't do it. We are actually quite nervous of breaking laws as we think ALOT, so we make sure with the most certainty we are not, and ask many questions! Also, truck driving is highly stimulating and can really calm us down because there is so much going on! My favourite are city loads, they are very engaging to me and I can back into any little skyscraper loading area with a big ol flatbed! I thoroughly enjoyed successfully completing crane loads in places like Downtown Vancouver, Downtown Toronto, and more! I will be tackling a new city next

Just my experience and 2 cents.

Cheers.

 

I met a driver with Down Syndrome. He had been driving several years and doing ok. He's the only driver I've seen with Down Syndrome. That was a long, long time ago.

 

Few years ago a driver with ADHD rammed some cars on the interstate. No illegal drugs or alcohol in his system. He was a new driver also. Told the police he forgot to take his ADHD meds that day. I don't know what happened after that.

 

I don't really know what to say, but I just really hope all parties involved were ok. That really is such a crappy situation. Sorry to hear about that

 

I want to address something that needs to be cleared up. HIPAA will not shield you in the US when it comes to using these meds. For the purposes of discussion, I am not going to get too deep into HIPAA. The issue is almost all carriers want your physical long form on file with a copy of your CDL. If you hold to HIPAA and refuse most likely you will be fired or have a job offer withdrawn. I have already stated in my last comment and @REO6205 stated it again in his.

I am positive there are many people out there operating Class 8 CMVs taking these meds as well as Benzos. I know of several who are taking Zoloft and other antidepressants. Every single person I know who is taking these meds has taken them long enough to show stability and they are doing OK.

Because of this, I will just state that there are no one-size-fits-all answers and advise extreme caution going forward.