
Compliance with DOT Drug & Alcohol Testing Rules is Now The Law.
The following is a brief summary of the Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration drug and alcohol testing requirements.
For detailed information refer to Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations or the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations under the section numbers provided.
| Who must be tested? | |
(382.103) |
|
| Implementation Dates | |
(382.115) |
|
| Testing for what? | |
(382.107
and 40.21)
|
|
| What tests are required? | |
(Part 382, Subpart C) Pre-employment (382.301) Pre-employment testing is not required if, under the regulations, a driver applicant has participated in a drug testing program within the previous 30 days and was either tested for drugs within the past 6 months or participated in a random drug testing program for the previous 12 months. The company must ensure that no prior employer has records of a violation of the drug use or alcohol misuse rules within the previous 6 months. The company may use a driver who is not tested under its program if the company assures that the driver participates in a testing program which meets the DOT requirements. Post
accident (382.303) What
is an accident? This
table notes when a post-accident test is required
to be conducted. Table from 382.303(a)(3) |
| Type of Accident involved | Citation is issued to the CMV driver | Test must be performed by employer |
| Human Fatality | YES | YES |
| NO | YES | |
| Bodily injury with immediate medical treatment away from the scene. | YES | YES |
| NO | NO | |
| Disabling damage to any motor vehicle requiring tow away. | YES | YES |
| NO | NO |
Random
Testing (382.305)
DOT regulations mandate that the company establish
a random drug and alcohol testing program. The
rate for drug testing must be 50% and the rate
for alcohol testing must be 10%, based on the
average number of driver positions.
Selection must be made by a scientifically valid method and testing must be spread reasonably throughout the calendar year. If the company conducts testing through a consortium, the number of drivers to be tested may be calculated based on the total number of drivers covered by the consortium.
Random alcohol testing shall only be conducted on a driver while on duty, just before driving or just after driving.
Reasonable
suspicion (382.307 and 382.603)
The company may require a driver to submit to
a drug or alcohol test when reasonable suspicion
exists that the driver has violated the drug use
or alcohol misuse prohibitions contained in the
regulations. The determination must be based on
specific, contemporaneous, articulable observations
concerning the appearance, behavior, speech or
body odors of the driver.
The company official who makes the determination that reasonable suspicion exists must receive at least 60 minutes of training on drug use and at least an additional 60 minutes of training on alcohol misuse. The person who determines that reasonable suspicion exists must not conduct an alcohol test.
Alcohol testing for reasonable suspicion is authorized only if the observations are made and the test conducted while the driver is on duty, just before driving or just after driving.
Referral,
evaluation and treatment (382.605)
Each driver who has engaged in conduct prohibited
by subpart B of this part shall be advised by
the employer of the resources available to the
driver in evaluating and resolving problems associated
with the misuse of alcohol and use of controlled
substance, including the names, addresses, and
telephone numbers of substance abuse professionals
and counseling and treatment programs.
Each
driver who engages in conduct prohibited by subpart
B of this part shall be evaluated by a substance
abuse professional who shall determine what assistance,
if any, the employee needs in resolving problems
associated with alcohol misuse and/or controlled
substances use.
Return-to-duty (382.309)
Each employer shall ensure that before a driver
returns to duty requiring the performance of a
safety-sensitive function after engaging in conduct
prohibited by subpart B of this part concerning
alcohol, the driver shall undergo a return-to-duty
alcohol test with a result indicating an alcohol
concentration of less than 0.02.
Each
employer shall ensure that before a driver return-to-duty
requiring the performance of a safety-sensitive
function after engaging in conduct prohibited
by subpart B of this part concerning controlled
substances, the driver shall undergo a return-to-duty
controlled substance test with a result indicating
a verified negative result for controlled substance
use.
Follow-up (382.311 and 382.605)
The
company must advise any driver who has violated
the drug use or alcohol misuse regulations of
the resources available in evaluating and resolving
problems associated with the conduct. Each driver
who has engaged in prohibited conduct must be
evaluated by a substance abuse professional. If
it is determined that assistance is needed, follow-up
testing may be required.
Testing
must be unannounced and consist of at least 6
tests in the first 12 months following the drivers
return to duty. In no case shall the testing exceed
60 months.
Follow-up alcohol testing shall only be conducted on a driver while on duty, just before a safety sensitive function or just after a safety sensitive function.
Collection/test
site |
|
(40.25
and 40.57)
The
companys program must designate one
or more collection sites where drivers may
provide a urine specimen for drug testing
purposes. Each site must have all necessary
personnel, materials, equipment, facilities
and supervision to provide for privacy and
the collection, security, temporary storage
and shipping of urine specimens to a certified
drug testing laboratory.
The companys program must provide a location with all the necessary equipment, personnel and materials for alcohol testing and that is sufficient to prevent unauthorized persons from seeing or hearing test results. |
|
What
are certified testing laboratories? |
|
(40.3
and 40.39)
The company may only use laboratories certified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to test urine specimens. Certified labs will conduct an initial test using immunoassay. All specimens identified as positive on the initial test will be confirmed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry procedures. |
|
What
is an MRO? (Medical Review Officer) |
|
(40.3
and 40.33)
An
MRO is a licensed doctor of medicine or osteopathy
having expertise in drug abuse disorders.
The company/consortium must designate one
of these doctors as the M3edical Review Officer.
The MROs primary function is to review,
interpret and report test results of drivers
and driver applicants. Negative test results
would be reported to the company or management
official designated to receive those results.
In the even to positive test results, the
MRO would contact the driver to determine
if a legitimate explanation for the positive
test exists.
If, in the MROs judgment, no reasonable explanation exists for a positive test, those results would be passed on to the designated company official. |
|
What
is a BAT? (Breath Alcohol Technican) |
|
(40.3
and 40.51)
A BAT instructs and assists the driver in the breath testing process, operates the evidential breath testing device, and interprets and reports results to the designated company official. The Breath Alcohol Technician must be trained to proficiency in accordance with the DOT model course. |
|
What
are split samples? |
|
(40.25)
Urine specimens must be divided into two samples, a primary and a split specimen, before being sent to a certified lab for testing. If the test result of the primary specimen confirms the presence of one or more prohibited drugs, the MRO must notify the driver that he/she has 72 hours to request a test of the split sample. If such request is received the MRO will notify the lab to send the split specimen to a different certified lab for analysis. |
|
What
are blind samples? |
|
(40.3
and 40.31)
A
blind sample is a specimen submitted to the
laboratory under a fictitious identifier.
It is used for quality control testing. All
companies or drug testing consortiums, regardless
of their size must submit three blind samples
for every 100 samples submitted, to a maximum
of 100 blind samples per quarter.
How does this work? If your company or consortium has fewer than 2,000 drivers that are subject to testing, all blind samples can be negative. If you have more than 2,000 drivers, 20 percent of the blind samples submitted each quarter must be tainted with drugs. |
|
Handling
test results |
|
(382.401,
382.405, 382.407, 40.33, 40.63, 40.65 and
40.81)
For
drug testing, the MRO will report to the designated
company official in a confidential manner
if a particular test is negative or verified
positive. In the event a result is positive,
the MRO will first attempt to contact the
driver directly to discuss possible alternative
medical explanations prior to making a final
decision to verify the result.
For
alcohol testing, the BAT will report the result
to the designated company official in a confidential
manner.
The company must maintain all test records in a secure location with controlled access. |
|
Notification
Requirements |
|
(382.411)
The
company must tell a driver applicant the results
of pre-employment drug and alcohol tests if
the applicant requests the results within
60 calendar days of being notified that he/she
will not be hired.
The
company must notify a driver of random, reasonable
suspicion and post accident results, and the
drug(s) identified if the results are verified
positive.
If an MRO is unable to contact a driver to discuss a positive result, the designated company official must make a reasonable attempt to notify the driver that he/she should contact the MRO within 24 hours. Once a driver has been notified, the company must immediately inform the MRO. |
|
If
a Driver Refuses a Test |
|
(382.107,
382.211, 382.507 and 40.67)
The company must not allow any driver who refuses to submit to the required tests to operate a commercial vehicle. Any driver who refuses to submit to a post accident test after a fatal accident will be disqualified for a period of one year. |
|
Record-Keeping
Requirements |
|
(382.401
and 382.403)
The
company must keep individual negative test
results for a minimum of 12 months. Records
related to the collection process and training
must be kept for at least 2 years. All other
records in the companys possession relating
to the administration and results of the drivers
drug and alcohol testing program must be maintained
for five years. The MRO shall be the sole
custodian of all individual drug test results
and must maintain those results for five years.
The company must maintain, on a calendar year basis, a summary of those records related to the administration and results of the company drug testing program. |
|
Training
for Supervisors |
|
(382.603)
Each employer shall ensure that all persons designated to supervise drivers receive at least 60 minutes of training on alcohol misuse and receive at least an additional 60 minutes of training on controlled substances use. The training will be used by the supervisors to determine whether reasonable suspicion exists to require a driver to undergo testing under 382.307. The training shall include the physical, behavioral, speech, and performance indicators of probable alcohol misuse and use of controlled substances. |
|
What
is a STT? (Screening Test Technician) |
|
(40.93)
A STT instructs and assists the driver in the alcohol screening test process when the test is conducted with an approved non-evidential testing device. The STT interprets and reports a test result of less than 0.02 to the designated company official. In the event the test result is 0.02 or greater, a confirmation test must be conducted by a BAT using an evidential breath testing device. A Screening Test Technician must be trained to proficiency in accordance with the DOT model course. |