Heavy Duty Trucking, October 2019

HDT OCTOBER 2019 76 WWW TRUCKINGINFO COM Abigail Potter manager of safety and occupational health policy at American Trucking Associations and self described ATA drug czar says oral fluid testing is probably as close as were going to get to show some level of impairment for users of legalized marijuana Canada is introducing pilot programs to introduce roadside oral fluid testing and I think thats going to be the standard going forward Its not perfect but BAC bloodalcohol content isnt perfect either so were hoping oral fluid testing can be kind of that baseline standard In an industry faced with difficulty finding and keeping qualified drivers some worry that stricter drug testing protocols especially in the wake of legalized marijuana in many states will only make that situation worse Dean Newell vice president of safety and driver training for Maverick Transportation which has been hair testing since 2012 says a fellow trucking exec called him wanting to know what the fallout would be I look at it from a different perspective of I dont want them in a wreck vs How many am I going to lose by going to hair testing Newell says Id venture to say generally youve probably got other issues with drivers who would be driven away by stricter hairtesting anyway PART 4 D R U G T E S T I N G TRUCKING UNDER THE INFLUENCE PART 4 POSITIVE RESULTS FOR DIFFERENT DRUG TESTING METHODS 0 3 6 9 12 15 OPIATES MARIJUANA COCAINE AMPHETAMINES 000 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 URINE HAIR ORAL FLUIDS Because hair and oral fluid testing are not part of the DOT drug testing regulations this data from Quest Diagnostics for 2018 compares its positivity rates for urine hair and oral fluids testing among the general U S workforce The federal Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse is finally rolling out in January 2020 This electronic database will track commercial drivers license holders who have tested positive for prohibited drug or alcohol use as well as refusals to take required drug tests and other drug and alcohol violations The clearinghouse has long been sought as a way to keep commercial drivers who have violated federal drug and alcohol rules from lying about those results and simply getting a job with another motor carrier Registration for motor carriers drivers and other users is expected to open up in October Those required to register for and use the clearinghouse include most commercial drivers their employers consortia third party administrators used by carriers medical review officers substance abuse professionals and state driver licensing agencies The FMCSA recently proposed a three year delay for state licensing agencies but everyone else is expected to go forward with implementation as scheduled Effective Jan 6 2020 the rule requires employers and their service agents to populate the clearinghouse with Their employees DOT drug and alcohol violations under Part 382 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and Verification of a CDL drivers completed steps in the DOT return to duty process At the same time employers will have to begin querying the clearinghouse for required information for driver hiring and annual requirements There are two types of queries motor carriers must make Full queries must be done at the pre employment stage and the driver has to log into the clearinghouse and give consent first Limited queries must be done at least once a year on each of a carriers drivers Driver consent is required for limited queries but carriers can add a blanket consent to other pre employment consent paperwork Employers are allowed to authorize service agents to report violations and to conduct queries of the clearinghouse on their behalf The query bundle an employer purchases from FMCSA will depend on the number of queries that need to be conducted The flat per query rate is 125 for both limited and full queries There are customized bundles available to help fit business requirements More information at https clearinghouse fmcsa dot gov DRUG AND ALCOHOL CLEARINGHOUSE TO DEBUT IN JANUARY Read 7 Things You Need to Know About the New Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse at www truckinginfo com Clearinghouse BONUS Synthetic urine is essentially water that has been fortified with a mix of chemicals such as creatinine salts and yellow coloring Its sold at head shops truck stops and on the internet according to DrugAbuse com and its often sold with temperature sensing strips and or hand warmers to make sure its at the proper temperature SOURCE HDT GRAPH QUEST DIAGNOSTICS DATA