Drug and alcohol clearinghouse

Check Call — Shared truckload: The Goldilocks of freight

Group of people huddled around desks
Image: Memegenerator.net

The Goldilocks of freight, shared truck load (STL) — when you have freight that is too big for LTL but too small for a full truckload, that’s where you can find shared truckload. Shared truckload shipments allow shippers to pay less for faster service. 

One component of that faster service is because freight stays on one truck the entire time and doesn’t have to stop at terminals to be offloaded. With STL, shippers don’t have to wait till the truck gets full, they can...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/check-call-shared-truckload-the-goldilocks-of-freight

FMCSA issues new driver-ban rules for drug and alcohol abusers

States have until November 2024 to comply with a new requirement that they ban drivers with drug and alcohol violations from operating a truck before completing the return-to-duty process.

The rule is scheduled to be posted in the Federal Register on Thursday. It resulted from a 2020 Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration proposal requiring state agencies to stop issuing, renewing or upgrading commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) or commercial learner’s permits (CLPs) to drivers with drug...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fmcsa-issues-new-driver-ban-rules-for-drug-and-alcohol-abusers

FMCSA head commits to boosting oversight of trucking

The nation’s top trucking regulator told lawmakers she is committed to taking concrete steps to reduce deaths and injuries from large-truck crashes.

At her nomination hearing on Wednesday to be the seventh administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Meera Joshi, currently leading the agency as deputy administrator, was questioned by U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., about what he considers a lack of oversight by FMCSA in addressing such crashes.

“I think it’s clear that this...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fmcsa-head-commits-to-boosting-oversight-of-trucking

Clearinghouse reporting reveals deficiencies in carrier drug and alcohol programs

Through June 30, 2021, 85,745 drug and alcohol violations had been reported to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse since its launch on Jan. 6, 2020. Of those, 2,183 have been a result of a fleet reporting “actual knowledge” of a violation, and 12,448 have been for a test refusal.

Combined, that means 17.1% of all violations in the clearinghouse are a result of a fleet reporting the violation. But, according to J. J. Keller & Associates, in at least some...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/clearinghouse-reporting-reveals-deficiencies-in-carrier-drug-and-alcohol-programs

CDL holders banned from driving due to drugs, alcohol top 60,000

The number of U.S. truck drivers sidelined due to substance abuse violations has surpassed 60,000 and continues to climb by roughly 2,000-3,000 per month, according to federal data.

The latest monthly report by the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, administered by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration since January 2020, revealed that 60,299 CDL holders have a drug or alcohol violation recorded in the clearinghouse as of June 1, up from 57,510 as of May 1 and up from 18,860 recorded in...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/cdl-holders-banned-from-driving-due-to-drugs-alcohol-top-60000

FreightWaves Classics: FMCSA regulates the trucking industry

Parked trucks signal drivers are following FMCSA hours of service rules. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

An earlier FreightWaves Classics article provided an overview of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT). One of its key agencies is the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, or FMCSA. 

The FMCSA is the lead federal agency responsible for “regulating and providing safety oversight of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs).” The agency’s mission is to reduce/prevent commercial motor vehicle-related fatalities and injuries.

Partnering with industry, state and local governments and safety...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-classics-fmcsa-regulates-the-trucking-industry

Carriers pressure FMCSA to act on drug hair-test exemption request

Eleven large-fleet trucking companies are pushing federal regulators to address a petition to allow hair testing for drugs that the carriers claim is needed to help keep drug-using truck drivers from getting behind the wheel.

The carriers — which include publicly traded truckload operators J.B. Hunt [NASDAQ: JBHT], U.S. Xpress [NYSE: USX], Knight-Swift Transportation [NYSE: KNX] and Schneider National [NYSE: SNDR] — are seeking an exemption from trucking regulations so that they could use hair...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/carriers-pressure-fmcsa-to-act-on-drug-hair-test-exemption-request

Watchdog spotlights FMCSA’s, other agencies’ disjointed drug testing verification

A federal watchdog is recommending the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) better coordinate trucking and other transportation regulators to improve the reliability of drug and alcohol data.

A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, released on Wednesday, acknowledged that DOT, its modal agencies and the U.S. Coast Guard (which is part of the Department of Homeland Security) have taken steps to ensure that drug and alcohol testing data reported by employers is reliable.

“These data...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/watchdog-spotlights-fmcsas-other-agencies-disjointed-drug-testing-verification

FMCSA: More drivers returning to work after drug violations

There is hope for a trucking industry that has been warning of a major blow to the pool of available drivers resulting from tighter compliance measures by federal regulators: Drivers are more often taking the necessary steps toward returning to duty after getting hit with violations.

That seems to be one of the trends revealed by data compiled by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse, which went into effect in January 2020.

Of the 55,901 drivers...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/fmcsa:-more-drivers-returning-to-work-after-drug-violations

The top 2 challenges of drug & alcohol compliance

Violations of Federal Regulation 49 CFR Part 382 (controlled substances and alcohol) continue to trip up trucking carriers and drivers. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, failing to comply with Part 382 accounts for 40% of acute violations and 20% of critical violations for carriers.

Acute and critical violations are what FMCSA uses during a compliance review to arrive at a motor carrier’s safety rating.

In some cases, these violations are a matter of proper and...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/the-top-2-challenges-of-drug-alcohol-compliance

+ More