LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVES
Alcohol and Substance Abuse
A commercial truck driver is in violation of FMCSA regulations when his or her BAC is greater than .02. Drivers testing at this level are not permitted to perform "safety-sensitive functions", which includes driving, for at least 24 hours. A driver whose BAC exceeds .04 may not return to duty without submitting to further testing. Drivers are also tested for marijuana, cocaine, opiates, amphetamines, and PCP.
The FMCSA reviewed the results of random drug and alcohol tests performed in 2005 of 117,000 truck drivers. Of that number, 1.7 percent failed the test for controlled substances and .2% failed the alcohol test. These results are similar to the results reported for 2002 through 2004. Based on this information, the FMCSA will continue to require 50% of commercial truck drivers to undergo random drug testing and 10% to undergo testing for alcohol.
A summary of this survey may be found at the FMCSA website.
On May 15, 2008, the General Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report recommending improvements in the enforcement of drug and alcohol safety rules regulating the trucking industry. The GAO notes that this is an important issue of public safety: previous studies have found that driving under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or both can increase the risk of truck crashes anywhere from two-to six-fold.
Some key findings of the GAO study are: 1) some carriers have no drug testing program at all; 2) drug users may avoid detection by "adulterating or substituting their urine specimens with products that are widely available and marketed as allowing drivers to 'beat' the test;" and 3) drivers who test positive may continue to drive by changing trucking companies. The GAO concluded that the FMCSA is able to conduct, on average, only 13,000 compliance reviews annually even though there are over 700,000 carriers registered with the Department of Transportation.
The GAO's report calls for the Secretary of Transportation to expedite improving safety audits and to implement a national database of drug testing information. The GAO also suggests that Congress consider (1) adopting legislation to ban substances that can be used to falsify drug testing, (2) providing FMCSA with additional authority over entities involved in the drug testing process, and (3) encouraging or requiring states to suspend commercial driver's licenses of drivers who fail or refuse to take a drug test.
The full report of the GAO may be found here.
In a move to prevent truckers from cheating on mandatory drug testing, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ("FMCSA") announced a new rule on June 25 that requires drug testers to check for evidence of tempering with urine samples. The new rule addresses the availability and use of products designed to alter urine samples to hide illegal drug usage. As part of the findings in support of the new rule, the FMCSA noted: "The DOT continues to believe that mandatory testing for specimen validity is an appropriate response to the use of adulterants and attempts to subvert the collection and testing process."
If drug testers detect possible tampering, under some circumstances, the new rule requires, for example, collection of another urine sample under "direct observation".
The new rule is available in its entirety here. It is effective as of August 25,2008.