Escort Vehicle Driver Comments:

The complete definition and explanation of all factors collected for the DOT is described in the Revised Handbook for Analyzing Jobs (RHAJ). The RHAJ provided all of the instructions to the Department of Labor (DOL) job analysts as to how to rate occupations for the DOT data collection effort. It was last published in 1991.

SkillTRAN believes that the Department of Labor (DOL) erred when they classified the Escort Vehicle Driver as “Sedentary”. “Light” should be the proper minimum strength assigned based on the RHAJ definition to which they are bound.

Relevant Hyperlinks: RHAJ chapter 9 – Aptitudes          RHAJ Chapter 12 – Physical Demands and Environmental Conditions

Here is the definition of Escort Vehicle Driver:

919.663-022  Escort-Vehicle Driver

Drives vehicle equipped with warning lights and signs to escort trucks hauling mobile homes on public thoroughfares:  Precedes escort and maintains specified distance between pilot vehicle and escort to provide warning to other motorists and to clear traffic at locations.  Communicates by two-way radio with truck and other pilot vehicle drivers to coordinate changes in speed and route, emergencies, or traffic congestion. 

DLU:  1977

Eye-Hand-Foot Coordination:  Level 3 Average Aptitude (34th-66th Percentile)

The ability to move the hand and foot coordinately with each other in accordance with visual stimuli.

RHAJ Chapter 9 – Aptitudes, page 9-32 describes Eye-Hand-Foot Coordination and various activities associated with different levels of Eye-Hand-Foot Coordination required to perform an occupation. The aptitude level associated with an Escort Vehicle Driver is a 3, which is in the average range. From the Pocket Guide to the DOT, 9,365 DOT occupations require no significant amount of this factor in order to perform this work. At a below average level, there is another 2,678 occupations that only require a “Below Average” level. Together that represents 12,043 DOT occupations of the 12,761 DOT occupations. This is 94.37% of the entire DOT requiring mostly none or very little Eye-Hand-Foot Coordination to perform occupations. So the remaining 5.63% of the DOT requires Average or better ability in this factor to perform this occupation. Escort Vehicle Driver is one of those remaining occupations.

RHAJ Chapter 12 – Physical Demands and Environmental Conditions, page 12-2 shows the definition and examples of both Sedentary and Light Work categories.
Sedentary work involves exertion of up to 10 pounds of force occasionally or a negligible amount of force frequently to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body.
Light work is exerting up to 20 pounds of force occasionally, or up to 10 pounds of force frequently, or a negligible amount of force constantly to move objects. Even though the weight lifted may be only a negligible amount, a job should be rated Light Work: (1) when it requires walking or standing to a significant degree; or (2) when it requires sitting most of the time but entails pushing or pulling of arm or leg controls; or (3) ….

So this DOT / RHAJ definition of the difference between Sedentary and Light is where the line gets drawn. By definition, an Escort Vehicle Driver is at least Light work. Additionally, use of the brake pedal in a vehicle in an emergency situation will rapidly exceed 20 pounds of foot pressure.

Further evidence:

A worker trait search of Work Field 013 – Transporting – shows 173 DOT occupations. Only 1 unskilled occupation is shown as Sedentary – the Escort Vehicle Driver. Four other unskilled occupations are rated at Light work, 7 are rated at Medium, and 3 are rated at Heavy.