driver drug testing

Buttigieg: Rescheduling pot will not affect trucker drug testing

WASHINGTON — U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg pushed back on assertions that federal regulators could lose the ability to test truck drivers for marijuana use if the drug is deregulated down to a Schedule III substance.

Responding to that concern from lawmakers at a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing on Thursday — and to the concerns of the American Trucking Associations — Buttigieg testified that if the Biden administration’s marijuana rescheduling rulemaking...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/buttigieg-rescheduling-pot-will-not-affect-trucker-drug-testing

Truckers tell DEA they back Biden’s move to reclassify pot

WASHINGTON — Some truck drivers are urging the Biden administration to approve reclassifying marijuana to a Schedule III drug, but employers that fear safety would decline and put trucking companies at risk are pushing back.

Only a fraction of the more than 20,000 comments filed so far in the rulemaking, published in May by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Drug Enforcement Administration, are from truck drivers. (The comment period ends July 22.) But so far, they overwhelmingly — and anonymously...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/truckers-tell-dea-they-back-bidens-move-to-reclassify-pot

Drug/Alcohol Clearinghouse fines set at $5,833 per violation

Drivers, carriers and medical review officers (MROs) could be fined up to $5,833 for each violation of any provisions within the Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse, according to the latest directive from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

DOT issued a final rule on Monday that implements the authority of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to assess civil penalties for violations of the Clearinghouse, at 49 CFR part 382 subpart G of the code of federal regulations.

“Any...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/drugalcohol-clearinghouse-fines-set-at-5833-per-violation

Drivers getting caught in FMCSA’s drug clearinghouse net

The increasing number of full queries made into the federal Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse is evidence that the database is taking drug abusers off the road as intended, according to a trucking regulatory expert.

According to the latest monthly statistics released Monday by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, full queries into the clearinghouse increased 33% to 13,785 between October and November, which followed a 61% increase between September and October. Full queries are conducted...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/drivers-getting-caught-in-fmcsas-drug-clearinghouse-net

Don’t get wrapped up in drug test confusion

Substance abuse is a serious issue in the trucking industry, but tracking and reporting it is equally challenging. While motor carriers, medical review officers (MROs), substance abuse professionals (SAPs) and consortium/third-party administrators (C/TPAs) do their best to crack down on the use of illegal substances, all parties must understand how to conduct proper testing and recordkeeping.

Marijuana takes the heat for contributing heavily to the industry’s substance abuse problem, and with...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/dont-get-wrapped-up-in-drug-test-confusion

Truck drivers testing positive for drugs increased 8% in September

Positive drug tests and drug test refusals increased 8% and 9.3%, respectively, in September, after dropping slightly in August, according to the most recent data compiled by the federal Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse.

The latest monthly data, released Tuesday by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), also revealed that the number of drivers now in “prohibited status” — meaning they have at least one drug or alcohol violation and are still in the return-to-duty process — reached...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/truck-drivers-testing-positive-for-drugs-increased-8-in-september