The Daily Dash is a quick look at what is happening in the freight ecosystem. In today’s edition, shippers can expect to pay much more this holiday season to move goods through FedEx’s or UPS’ networks. Plus, hair testing for drugs is closer to reality, and a new partnership aims to put 1,000 autonomous vehicles on the road.
Shipping warsFedEx and UPS have a simple message to holiday shippers: It’s time to pay up. The package giants have rolled out peak-season charges that affect shippers...
A proposal to make drug testing using hair mandatory in trucking is nearly ready for public comment after being reviewed and approved by the White House Office of Management and Budget, regulators have confirmed.
“It has been a pretty lengthy review process, but I think we are at a point now where it is at the Federal Register, hopefully with publication dates being set,” said Ron Flegel, chairman of the Drug Testing Advisory Board (DTAB) within the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services...
https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/mandatory-hair-testing-proposal-almost-ready-for-rollout
The Daily Dash is a quick look at what is happening in the freight ecosystem. In today’s edition, the high number of drug test refusals among truck drivers may result in a push for new testing methods, plus Wabash and eNow produce a solar-powered refrigerated trailer, and carriers have quickly gained the upper hand over shippers in rate negotiations.
Cheaters will be caught — but how?A high number of drug test refusals among truck drivers could be the impetus to usher in new ways of testing for...
Negligent trucking companies – not nuclear verdicts – are to blame for putting trucking companies out of business, a plaintiff’s attorney group has warned.
That message from the 700-member Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys (ATAA) was in response to research released this week by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) in which ATRI underscored “foundational changes” are needed in a trial system that has gotten off track in assessing an increase in the number of such multi-million...
https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/plaintiffs-attorneys-atri-nuclear-verdict-report-needs-reality-check
Drivers in the movie production business convinced regulators that they should have a certain flexibility when conducting pre-employment screening through the federal Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse.
In a decision scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Monday, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) ruled that Los Angeles-based Motion Picture Compliance Solutions (MPCS), which provides third-party regulatory services for trucking companies, will be able to conduct...
The rate of positive drug tests among U.S. workers hit a 14-year high last year with marijuana topping the list of most commonly detected illicit substances, an analysis released today by Quest Diagnostics shows.
Ten states and the District of Columbia have OK’d recreational marijuana for adults, and in more than half of all states medical marijuana is legal. The state initiatives pose problems for employers and mariners — or potential mariners — who may use marijuana when not at work.
Federal...
https://www.workboat.com/news/government/positive-drug-tests-among-u-s-workers-hits-14-year-high/
The Coast Guard has raised the 2019 minimum random drug-testing rate to 50% of crewmembers, because recent positive results crossed the 1% threshold that triggers a step-up in testing.
It’s the first increase after a six-year stretch while the rate held at 25%.
Employers must submit test data for each calendar year by mid-March of the following year. Starting in 2018, mariners in safety-sensitive positions were being tested for semi-synthetic opioids in addition to marijuana, cocaine,...
https://www.workboat.com/news/government/coast-guard-steps-up-random-drug-testing/