I know it’s a long running joke about becoming truck drivers but my brother (bless his heart) makes more than me (EMS), by a fair amount, as a trucker. Big woop it’s not a competition. But then I realized he is absolutely loaded on prescription medication. He’s got a wide range of veteran disabilities, pain, ptsd, add, and a concoction of who knows what else. And thats like MOST people in America. 

So the DOT is ok with thousands of heavily medicated truckers in 80,000lb trucks driving 80mph and passing with feet of dozens of families. But the DOT drags its feet on commercial aviation and we’re still stuck in the 1950 on the approved medication and health lists.

Like yeah a pilot had a stroke and it news but I wonder how many truckers per year die while at the wheel and the results are way more devastating.

you want truckers to have more scrutiny and pilots less I guess. I just drove 1200 mile of interstate and I never saw one truck doing 80 or above but yes I did notice they do have to drive close to other vehicles. the FAA is slow but you can get a special issuance in most cases.

Trucking is important, helicopters are not. If every helicopter pilot died on the job it would be an interesting news story. If the trucks stopped we would all starve. The elevated risk is justified.

of what is worth it

The elevated risk of truckers not being as healthy as pilots.

You can thank the ARMY. Army standards of years gone by are the threshold which the FAA medical standards were formed. It is not real modern medicine. 

Watch the  film about the first astronauts. The silly medical tests they survived made the modern FAA medical standard.

it’s almost like you have never taken an FAA physical 

what about FAA medical standards is not modern medicine. did the body change?

the last time I went for my medical they put me in that spinning g force thing until I blacked out but I still passed

Hey, I like that spinny thing………reminds me of losing T/R thrust in a hover