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Required hair testing in trucking could take years

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Long-awaited guidelines on using hair tests to detect drugs in the workplace have been sent to the White House but a federal requirement for truck drivers will likely take years, according to a trucking policy expert.

“Scientific and technical guidelines for the inclusion of hair specimens” to detect illegal drugs, along with standards for certifying laboratories in federal agency drug testing, was sent by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), an agency within the executive branch, on June 11.

Because the guidelines are more than two years overdue – Congress had directed the guidelines be issued in December 2016 – their arrival at OMB is significant.

“This has been a long time in coming, and it represents seriousness on the part of HHS to move these forward,” David Osiecki, President and CEO of Scopelitis Transportation Consulting, told FreightWaves. “But it’s just a step, not the final rule.”


Osiecki pointed out that once the OMB approval process is completed – which itself could take 90 days or more – two federal agencies would have to go through a rulemaking process before hair testing for drugs is required for commercial drivers: one from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance (ODAPC), and one from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

ODAPC advises the DOT secretary and publishes regulations on drug and alcohol testing among the federally regulated transportation modes. Each modal agency then must adopt testing procedures based on those regulations, Osiecki explained.

“So we’re actually years away from hair testing in the commercial trucking sector due to the steps that still have to be taken,” he said.

That’s either good or bad, depending on where you sit. At a Congressional hearing on June 12, American Trucking Associations (ATA) President and CEO Chris Spear testified that hair tests for drug use are more difficult to subvert.


“However, since urine is the only sample type permitted under DOT regulations, companies that voluntarily conduct hair tests must do so in addition to mandatory urine tests. This duplicated time and expense deters fleets from adopting this more effective testing method,” Spear said.

The ATA’s support for mandatory hair testing was bolstered by drug-test survey data released by the Trucking Alliance that found over 300,000 drivers currently on the road would fail or refuse a hair analysis.

Small business truckers represented by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), however, have so far opposed requiring hair testing in federal drug and alcohol test procedures.

“We have concerns about hair testing, such as biases toward hair color and texture, and the lack of any evidence of a connection between hair testing and crash reduction,” OOIDA told FreightWaves in a statement.

83 Comments

  1. Cindy

    I would not fail. But I would refuse.
    I am most serious about that.
    I think the ATA, which is about as anti- American council as could possibly be perceived truly want to drive independent drivers completely out of the industry. They want young drivers who are impressed with a 600 dollar a week paycheck and a chance to get out on their own away from their parents. So the loads that self driving trucks would not be able to do are covered by cheap, impressionable labor who has no idea how to figure things out for themselves.
    Besides that, my hair is cit just the way I like it and I pay almost 100 dollars to get my hair done and precision cuts can be ruined by on little snip.
    Sorry. I will not submit. Some of you guy’s might as well put your balls on the plate and beg them to smash them. It is a matter of principal.
    One of these days, these young ones will get sick of sleeping on the side of the road, will get tired of fast food, get sick of cameras watching your every move, of being tracked like prisoners. The trucking industry will use them like a pump uses a young runaway child. They will make you feel good about it until you want to seriously have your own life. No, they own you 24-7. They let you go home. That is what they do. They let you, because they own you. Sad, but very true.

    1. Daniel Hostetler

      You are ABSOLUTELY right. This is all about industry power and control. I’ve yet to see data that shows this testing would significantly improve safety or performance.

  2. August Gilbert

    Why should it take years to complete. A lot of places do it. Apply, interview, go for drug screen, give pee sample, cut or pull a strand of hair, send it out, and 3 to 5 days,, got results. What’s the big deal.

    1. Richard

      Because it’s invading your personal privacy for one. Second it’s just another way to control another human I thought slavery was abolished? I also thought this was a free country there saying all this shit in the name of safety I say bullshit! You want to make roads safe get all these freaking foreigners the hell out of trucks and out of are country and make the new drivers actually learn how to operate safely I say make them drive with no Jake brakes no power steering no air conditioning and drive a twin stick if they can do that as a second seat driver and stick it out for a year or two then turn them loose on there own they’ll probably make a decent driver

  3. Stephen G Wisener

    So much easier to get DNA from hair than urine. The hair could be submitted to company health insurance providers to determine hereditary health issues which in turn could raise your premium or disqualify you all together.

  4. Anthony

    Screw the ATA and their big box band of accident prone companies. Problem with hair testing gets too personal in a persons life and goes to far back .should only go back no more than 60 days, for numerous reasons suppose person is a newbie on cdl and now stopped doing whatever to start his career but aince ATA is so fucking nosey guy is labeled a druggie for how far back it went and never given a chance.im only 18 yrs in but your triple og’s cant sit here and bash what im saying but you know 65% of your generation was messed up on something didnt complain then.though it was a differant time unlike in todays jackass enviroment we have to deal with . I say stay sober so its not over . But trucking always been a place for second chances or societies odd ones and with this i dont see anyone getting a second chance

    1. Richard

      So what your saying is truck drivers are all retards and misfits? Well in a way that’s true because now days they can higher any freaking idiot and not train them then put them in the seat of a truck and send them out on the road so they can just be a nuisance and a hazard 99% of all these idiots have no idea what there doing they drive like ass holes why because they were never trained correctly there should not be a trucking school or there so called training classes they need to be made to run teams with a driver that’s been running for a minimum of ten years and has been taught the old way that’s what you call a second seat driver for all you children out here thinking you know everything already as for drug users I say execute them all

      1. Philip Dyar

        Rich I think you have the first part right I learned from my grandfather no school changed my own tires no auto, fridge, TV , none of that. drive that was the name of the game. But the second half I don’t agree with back in the day I was knowen to take a little black pill and tip a bottle. Haven’t done rather one in probably 25 yrs knew it was going to get me or someone else dead and I don’t think I should be killed for it everybody deserves a second chance.

    2. john lawler

      Why do hair testing for drugs lol they say next 10 years Driverless tractor trailers and alot other commercial vehicles wont need drivers at all say,1.7 million drivers gonna lose their jobs in the next 10 years so you gonna hair test robots retards

  5. Thomas R Love

    Well I find it suspicious that a trucking alliance headed up by the CEO of maverick and members knight-swift, and from may trucking, jb hunt, kllm,us Express want more government oversight, and that 300,000 driver purge wouldn’t benefit them greatly in the way of creating even a bigger driver shortage and they certainly wouldn’t take full advantage of that by raising rates.
    And that 300,000 drivers are just a speculative estimate at best.
    It’s called stacking the deck and trying to get the whole industry to run by the rules they have adopted for their own companies. Therefore they are the ones setting policies that they feel will be advantageous to their bottom line.

    1. Philip Dyar

      And when the little guy is gone watch what happens to the rates there’s no compatichon so you pay there price cause there the only show in town just wait and see.

  6. Rhianna Brown

    So absolutely no money in government to actually check and charge rape/murder/missing cases; but let’s put it into this… Smh makes great sense… I’m all about safety, but honestly there’s a ton of shit to pass those tests too… Just a waste of money that could be distributed to truck drivers in tax breaks and so on…

Comments are closed.

John Gallagher

Based in Washington, D.C., John specializes in regulation and legislation affecting all sectors of freight transportation. He has covered rail, trucking and maritime issues since 1993 for a variety of publications based in the U.S. and the U.K. John began business reporting in 1993 at Broadcasting & Cable Magazine. He graduated from Florida State University majoring in English and business.