Posted On:
June 1, 2008
Drug Testing of Semi Truck Drivers is Inadequate
Semi truck (aka tractor trailer or 18 wheeler) drivers are required to be drug tested in certain situations, particularly after an injury accident caused by the semi truck driver and prior to starting a job as a big truck driver. However, according to a government report prepared in November of 2007 and recently released, drug testing of semi truck drivers is not very effective in identifying if semi truck drivers are drug users who should be disqualified from driving.
The limitations in drug testing semi truck drivers cover a variety of areas according to the report. First, the motor carriers, or trucking companies, are the ones responsible for making sure their semi truck drivers are drug tested before they start driving. They, along with the driver, are also responsible for making sure a semi truck driver is tested for drugs (and alcohol) after causing or contributing to an accident that results in injury or significant property damage. According to an analysis of audits and compliance reviews, there is a significant lack of compliance in drug testing protocols. There were violations found in 70% of the compliance reviews relating to drug testing. The worst offenders were the smaller trucking companies, which make up the majority of trucking companies in the U.S. Additionally, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is the agency responsible for overseeing and regulating trucking. However, they only conduct audits or reviews of a limited number of trucking companies.
Even after a semi truck driver causes an injury accident and submits to a drug test as the regulations require, there are still serious limitations that prevent trucking companies and authorities from obtaining accurate results. If a semi truck driver causes an accident that results in an injury to another driver, the semi truck driver is required under the federal regulations to go to a drug testing site, whether the driver is in his/her home state or elsewhere, as soon as practicable after the accident and submit to a drug and alcohol test. However, 22 of the 24 collection sites reviewed did not employ the appropriate drug testing protocols according to the report. Other problems with drug testing are that urine tests are fairly easy to beat. The urine can be diluted, substituted with a synthetic urine or clean sample or masked with various products that are readily sold over the Internet. Most drugs that are actually tested only stay in a person's system for a couple of days, such as cocaine or methamphetamine.
Another problem is that trucking companies are supposed to make an effort to determine if a person applying for a job as a truck driver has previously failed a drug test. Trucking companies often do not investigate a driver's history and even when they do, if the applicant is not honest about a failed drug test, the trucking company may never find out about it.
Drug use among semi truck drivers is a very serious issue, not necessarily because of the number of semi truck drivers who use illegal drugs and drive (as those percentages are difficult to accurately determine), but because of the serious damage that a tractor trailer driver can do while driving an 80,000 pound semi truck under the influence of drugs. Some of the suggestions found in the report to address this problem include: expanding the oversight of trucking companies and enforcement authorization by the FMCSA, establishing a national database of semi truck drivers who have failed a drug test and making products that alter urine or drug test results illegal.
