Drug and Alcohol

Over 158,000 drivers are currently in a prohibited status in the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. If these drivers don’t move forward with the return-to-duty process by November 18, 2024, they may find their commercial licenses denied or downgraded.

It’s the season for respiratory illnesses, and many of your employees and commercial motor vehicle drivers may be coming to work under the weather. They may feel ill but not bad enough to stay home, so they medicate.

It’s been a long time in the works, but the U.S. Department of Transportation has published a final rule that amends the federal regulated industry drug-testing program to include oral fluid specimen testing as an alternative to urinalysis.

Beginning January 6, 2023, a pre-employment Clearinghouse query will satisfy the requirement to investigate a prospective driver's previous drug and alcohol program violations, as established by 49 CFR 391.23(e).

The Wall Street Journal reports that more than 107,000 people in the U.S. died from drug overdoses last year, preliminary Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data released Wednesday showed, roughly a 15% increase from 2020. The proliferation of the potent synthetic opioid fentanyl has been compounded by the destabilizing effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on users and people in recovery, according to health authorities and treatment providers. The U.S. has recorded more than one million overdose deaths since 2000, and more than half of those came in the past seven years.

Is marijuana really the drug most commonly used by truck drivers? National Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse statistics say it is by far, but hair-testing advocates cite new research finding that truck drivers abuse cocaine more than cannabis.

The end of any calendar year is a time to closely monitor your DOT drug and alcohol testing program. Examine the following six points on program management as 2021 draws to a close.

On March 23, 2020, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance (ODAPC) provided guidance about the impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health emergency on DOT drug and alcohol testing requirements for employers, employees, and service agents.

Starting in 2024, states must use the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse to make sure prohibited drivers don't have a valid CDL. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued a final rule closing a loophole in the federal drug and alcohol testing program.