Drug and alcohol clearinghouse

Breaking down new CDL regulations from the Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration proposed a rule back on April 28, 2020, titled “Controlled Substances and Alcohol Testing: State Driver’s Licensing Agency Non-Issuance/Downgrade of Commercial Driver’s License.”

Now approved, the rule is scheduled to take effect Nov. 18. It prohibits state driver licensing agencies from issuing, renewing, transferring or upgrading a CDL or commercial learner’s permit (CLP) for any driver banned from operating a commercial motor vehicle.

Essentially...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/breaking-down-new-cdl-regulations-from-the-drug-alcohol-clearinghouse

Preparing for phase 2 of the Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse regulation

There are currently over 175,000 CDL/CPL drivers with “prohibited” statuses in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse. This will be a bigger problem for these drivers and their employers in the coming months.  The FMCSA initially slated the Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse regulation for a two-phase rollout. Phase one officially took effect on Jan. 6, 2021, introducing the Clearinghouse as a centralized database designed to record and track violations of the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/preparing-for-phase-2-of-the-drug-alcohol-clearinghouse-regulation

Trash hauler seeks driver exemption from FMCSA drug regs

WASHINGTON — The nation’s largest trash pickup and landfill operator is seeking an exemption from federal drug testing and other regulations that would cover 21,000 of its truck drivers if approved.

Waste Management Holdings (WM), an affiliate of Waste Management Inc. (NYSE: WM), has told the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that certain driver qualification and Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse requirements overseen by the agency pose a unique problem due to the company’s numerous...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/trash-hauler-seeks-driver-exemption-from-fmcsa-drug-regs

Election-year politics could slam brakes on trucking regulations

This fireside chat recap is from FreightWaves’ Enterprise Fleet Summit on Wednesday.

FIRESIDE CHAT TOPIC: Regulations affecting large fleets

DETAILS: Scopelitis Transportation Consulting Co-Director P. Sean Garney surveys the regulatory landscape and what large fleets can expect in the year ahead.

KEY QUOTES FROM P. Sean Garney:

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https://www.freightwaves.com/news/election-year-politics-could-slam-brakes-on-trucking-regulations

FMCSA’s Hutcheson: Revised guidelines by summer for drug hair testing

ORLANDO, Fla. — A long-awaited revamp of mandatory guidelines for using hair to test truck drivers for drugs will be out this summer, according to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator Robin Hutcheson.

Hutcheson updated the trucking industry on the progress being made by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on the new guidelines at the Truckload Carriers Association annual meeting on Monday.

“We know that hair testing as part of drug testing is a big issue for you,”...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fmcsas-hutcheson-revised-guidelines-by-summer-for-drug-hair-testing

Truckers’ positive drug tests up 18% in 2022

The latest data from the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse reveals that drug use among commercial drivers may be at its highest level since the federal repository was set up in 2019 — but more are being cleared to drive again as well.

Total drug violations reported into the clearinghouse in 2022, including positive tests and refusals to take a drug test, increased 18% to 69,668 compared with last year’s 59,011, according to the most recent statistics released this week by the Federal Motor Carrier...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/truckers-positive-drug-tests-up-18-in-2022

FMCSA denies carriers’ request to report truck driver hair tests

Robin Hutcheson argues that federal statute prevents her from approving a drug-test exemption that some of the nation’s largest trucking companies argue would have kept thousands of drug-abusing drivers off the roads.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration chief stated in a public filing on Thursday that she was therefore obligated to deny an application filed by a group of 11 major truckload operators seeking an exemption from federal regulations to require positive hair tests be...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fmcsa-denies-carriers-request-to-report-truck-driver-hair-tests

Minority and independent truckers challenge hair testing for drugs

Truck at medical clinic

A drug-screening proposal that would raise the bar for thousands of truck drivers seeking work is getting strong pushback from independent and minority drivers.

An exemption request, filed with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in August by 11 major trucking companies, would effectively require that hair test results used by those companies to screen drivers for drug abuse be reported in the FMCSA’s Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. Those results would then be available to any...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/minority-and-independent-truckers-challenge-hair-testing-for-drugs

FMCSA takes on request to allow hair tests into drug clearinghouse

truck with hair test sample

A group of big-name trucking companies are once again asking federal regulators to allow hair testing for drugs to determine if a person is fit to drive — and this time the government has agreed to consider their case.

The Trucking Alliance, whose members include J.B. Hunt Transport (NASDAQ: JBHT), U.S. Xpress (NYSE: USX) and Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE: KNX), are seeking an exemption that would for the first time allow positive results using hair to test for drugs — taken from random...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/trucking-group-raises-pressure-to-allow-hair-for-drug-testing

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