Driving With a Cast on Arm or Leg

I just did a google search and while I couldnt find any specific regualtion code for this. I would think DOT/FMCSA could cause you some problems over attempting to drive with loss of arm or leg functions. I would also advise this could be very dangerous. If you have a a steer tire blowout or hit a pothole and need to make a sudden movement to keep the truck stable then you need both arms free/functional and in healthy conditons. I am going to copy and paste what I found below. Hopefully this gives you some insight until someone else comes along that is a regular poster.

If I was you I would consult a certfied medical examiner or ask a DOT officer yourself. Your company may not allow this even if FMCSA approves it, it would be a liability issue for their insurance.

 

I have driven with one on my arm.. broke my wrist on my right hand..just had to change the way I changed from low range to high range on the shifter and used the stick to change gears about 9 inches below the grip...
as for one on your leg...not sure how bad that could interfer with the pedal work

 

I drove and did my stepdeck with a cast on my left hand that went half way up my arm with no problems. Four months before that I shattered my right wrist into 5 pieces and got a plate and 5 screws had 15 weeks of physical therapy to go to but a month and a half out of surgery I took a break from that to run my step to make some extra money.

I think as long as you can safely do what needs to be done it is not an issue.

 

The rules are in the quote. You can interpret them how you want.

I've seen 4 cases since I've been a company driver and everyone of them were on the job workers comp injuries. Everyone of them were removed from driving and put on light office duty until they healed.

I think what's more of a disqualification is if you broke a bone or similar, most likely you are on pain medicine. Narcotics are an immediate disqualification. Other than that, if you can repeatedly push the clutch in traffic and safely hold onto the wheel, there shouldn't be a problem.

Owner operators can make their own decision. But I doubt a company driver would be driving with a cast on. Too much liability with further injuring and defense in a wreck. Also, your doctor will probably say light duty.

 

I'm pretty sure its illegal in a car, so in a truck, I would say no also. Same with driving while majorly sick. Think of it this way, let's say you have a cast on and someone runs into you. It can come back as your fault, you should not have been out there, and if you were not out there driving with a cast or with a major illness the accident wouldn't have happened. There are too many ways to get sued nowadays, lawyers go as far as putting on conventions on ways to sue truck drivers and carriers,is the money really worth it?

 

In January of 2006, I broke my right arm. Wore a cast and continued to drive.

Only problem I had was writing the logs. I am right handed and had to write them left handed.

The truck was an Automatic, so shifting was not a problem. However, the fire trucks were not and they were a pain to shift if I had to drive them during the cast time.

I was prescribed pain medication, but refused to fill the prescription and only took Ibuprofen and Aleve.

 

Hey rick 25, get that penny a mile truck off the screen your making yourself look bad