ATA calls out Brazilian driver drug study

   A study conducted by the Universidade Estadual de Londrina in Brazil that found commercial truck drivers in Australia, Latin America and the United States are users of drugs and alcohol has been called misleading and unscientific by the American Trucking Associations.
   ATA said the Brazilian university based the study on self reporting and limited driver testing and pointed out that the university’s results “stand in stark contrast to the ongoing data collected by U.S. authorities based on biological testing of professional truck drivers in the U.S.”  
   The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration found that in 2011, drug use violations among drivers in the U.S. totaled 0.9 percent; for the most recent alcohol-use data, violations were found to be 0.19 percent.
   ATA Chairman Phil Byrd targeted media outlets for spreading false information based on what he referred to as an erroneous report.
   “When I recently assumed the role of chairman of American Trucking Associations, I said one of my primary aims was to increase the level of respect we have for our professional drivers,” Byrd said. “I can think of nothing more disrespectful than being tarred as a drug user or drunk driver based on inaccurate reporting and a specious study. The outlets that ran with this story, and did not try to verify its accuracy with U.S. data, owe the millions of safe, dedicated drivers that deliver America’s most essential goods every day a sincere apology.”