Data comparing pre-employment drug tests of truck driver applicants found evidence that thousands of habitual drug users are slipping through the federal drug screening system.
Compiled by the Alliance for Driver Safety & Security (known as the Trucking Alliance), whose members include major truckload operators J.B. Hunt [NASDAQ: JBHT], U.S. Xpress [NYSE: USX] and Knight-Swift Transportation [NYSE: KNX], the “first of its kind” survey found that while 94 percent of the urinalysis and hair analysis of 151,662 applicants tested drug-free, thousands failed either or both tests.
Based on what the Trucking Alliance asserted is a “statistically valid sample” of 3.5 million commercial drivers, the survey projects with a 99 percent confidence level and less than 1 percent margin of error that 301,000 truck drivers currently on the road would fail or refuse a hair analysis.
“We have a huge drug abuse problem in the trucking industry, and should actually purge an estimated 300,000 commercial drivers to clean it up,” said Trucking Alliance Managing Director Lane Kidd in a statement. “No wonder truck accidents are on the rise.”
The results of the survey were recently submitted to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) as well as to the U.S. House Transportation & Infrastructure Highway Subcommittee before its hearing today (June 12) on the state of the trucking industry.
“The T&I Subcommittee can intervene to mitigate this problem,” the Alliance stated in comments to the subcommittee. The group wants lawmakers to urge the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to complete hair test guidelines, which were mandated under the FAST Act surface transportation legislation in 2015 but have yet to be rolled out.
“Until DOT recognizes a hair analysis, no employer will be allowed to submit hair test failures into the pending USDOT Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. This will make it virtually impossible for another employer to know if a person applying for a truck driver job has previously failed a drug test,” according to the Alliance.
Testifying at the June 12 subcommittee hearing, American Trucking Associations President Chris Spear echoed the group’s concern. “[The hair-test guidelines] have been sitting at HHS for three years. DOT is ready to move forward on this. Get on HHS and get this thing done.”
The Alliance pointed out that DOT currently recognizes only urinalysis as a drug test method, allowing employers to require additional test methods as part of employer hiring practices. However, “a growing number of trucking company employers, including Trucking Alliance carriers, require a second drug test, a hair analysis, as part of their pre-employment truck driver hiring policies.”
Using urinalysis alone missed nine out of 10 illegal drug users, according to the Alliance survey. Cocaine was the most prevalent drug that tested positive, followed by opioids and marijuana. “Applicants who failed or refused the hair test were disqualified for employment at these companies, but likely obtained the same job elsewhere, at companies that administer only a urinalysis.”
Some trucking experts contend that, while needed, more rigid federal guidelines and enforcement of drug testing will make it more difficult to seat drivers.
Tony miller
Pay more less hours, hire American citizens. Pay by the hours. Or leave it up to the driver, hourly or percentage
Steven
While brokers are working very hard to park as many trucks they can with their super cheap rates and DOT it’s working very hard to exterminate O/O this people are claiming that actually we need more drivers?
How about the actual drivers that are abused every week sitting in parking lots without a pay check or sitting at shipper/ receiver?
Jim Denson
How long does a hair test compared to urine ?
Robin Lester Kelley
Complete BS ,I would what his/ or the providers of this info’s relationship with testing companies is.If they can pass a piss test they are not addicted
LARRY G JOHNSTON
It’s amazing how we went from a drug test to a cell phone simply amazing. People can’t stay on topic. Most likely cause they dont have anything productive to put out. The hair sample will not prove that we failed previously. But it will show that at some point in the past that person may have used some form of drug. Marijuana being the most prevalent in the hair. And maybe opioids but cocaine probably not it only stays in the system 3 days. All these arguements are used to turn hard working people into criminals. Yes there maybe a problem, but to single accidents as the result and not looking at how these private citizens drive around us and those folks are more likely to be on drugs rather than the working man in a commercial vehicle. I do believe that some of the drivers in commercial truck may have a problem. Not sure it 300,000.
David Sykes
Bogus Salami!
These anal orifices are ALL in the position RIGHT NOW to remove this problem! Each and every one of these companies have pre-employment drug screenings in place. Why are they looking to enact laws to do what they can (and should) already do? What is their actual agenda?
Due to the fact they can all refuse employment to drug users yet need to get laws passed to have the government tell them to do it reveals one thing, we live in a fascist state. The corporations are privately owned but controlled by the state, Hitlers utopia!
Heil Globalism!!!!
Trucker T
The problem with hair testing for drugs is that its not always accurate, you can find things in hair samples from the type of soap or shampoo even conditioner that one uses. The longer the hair the more you can find. Hair drug testing is just not practical due to its flaws , that’s why so many companies urine test.
pete
i have an idea! don’t do drug’s at all and this would solve all this moaning about being tested! you know when you hire on that drug testing is mandatory and you can be tested randomly. if you feel the need to smoke,inject,snort or whatever means there are to take drug’s then maybe you should look for another line or work!!!! be an adult and ghrow up!