In short, I used to drive truck back in my younger days (about 35 yrs ago). I seldom ever had a load I didn't have to touch. The company I drove for left it to me to pay a lumper if I didn't want to unload it myself. Today, I have a bad back and I'm considering getting back into a truck again. If drivers are still having to unload this will be a deal breaker so to speak. Also I take Vicodin for the pain will this cause me to fail a DOT Physical?
unloading of freight. How common is it to have to unload your truck?
Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by reserching, Aug 20, 2012.
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Vicodin will cause you to fail the drug test.
Sometimes you might have to load or unload, very much depending. -
Just how bad is your back ? Could you handle pulling fifth wheel handles and cranking bad dolly legs ?
If you can handle 3" hoses 20 feet long I'd suggest tanker . -
Completely depends on where you get a job. Some jobs you unload more than drive, others you never touch anything. I've never unloaded a truck at my current employer.
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That said, if your back is that bad, any company that puts you through their own doctor or a "skills test" will quickly find your back issue and disqualify you. You may be disqualified at the doctor's since you're required to disclose that information, and if the doctor feels it's bad enough without the Vicodin, they may fail you on it....before you even do the "skills test".
Now, to carriers that let you bring your own doctor's note, or even let you drive with a bad back that isn't debilitating, they may have contracts with companies for lumpers , or reimburse you, or advance you money for them. Don't drive without that knowledge. Local companies tend to have you unloading, so bear that in mind.
Good LuckLast edited: Aug 21, 2012
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Thanks all for the info. I had figured the pain killers would keep me from passing a drug test but wasn't that sure. As for the back issue, all I can do for any long period of time is sit. After reading another post here from a person dealing with back issues, I came to see that getting back in a truck probably was not such a good idea after all. But thanks for the info just the same. Ya all take care
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It is one of the drugs the DOT test is for, and absent a doctor's prescription, he'll fail it.
Good Luck -
Frank
To the original poster,
Driving a truck on our country's neglected highways can be at times violently uncomfortable. There is a stretch of I-20 westbound through Jackson, MS that will blur your eyesight with a curve that has a car pulled over with a shattered radiator every time I've gone through. I cannot imagine what it would be like with any kind of back pain problems. If you can get treatment to alleviate the back problem before you come back out it would be a good thing. I was hired to drive and I never load or unload. If I'm dispatched on a driver load/unload I always decline with, "This driver never loads/unloads." and have never had a problem from my company.
Frank -
The main metabolite of Vicodin/hydrocodone is hydromorphone. As stated in the following excerpt from SAMSHA/NIDA the opiate testing by the DOT is strictly limited to opiate metabolites. The opiate metabolites are codeine, morphine, and 6-acetyl-morphine.
It is a common misconception that Vicodin/hydrocodone and oxycodone are part of the DOT drug testing program. Indeed, some quarters feel that SAMSHA/NIDA should be changed to reflect current drug abuse patterns. Clearly prescription painkillers are one of the most abused classes of drugs. However, at this point in time they are not part of standard SAMSHA/NIDA 5 Panel drug testing protocol.
Urine Testing
Opiates are one of the "SAMHSA-5". The five drugs tested for in the standard NIDA approved drug test.
The standard tests are a one step rapid qualitative immunoassay for the detection of opiate and opiate metabolites in urine. The cutoff concentration for this test is 2000 ng/ml, as recommended by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the U.S. National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA). Prior to December 1, 1998 the cutoff level was 300 ng/ml but was raised in order to reduce the possibility of false positives from poppy seeds. The cutoff for GC-MS, which detects morphine or codeine, is 150 ng/ml. The US Military uses a cutoff level of 3000 ng/ml in order to try to avoid false positives.
Heroin breaks down into codeine and morphine. Codeine breaks down into morphine. The opiate drug tests look for codeine, morphine, and 6-acetyl-morphine. The presence of 6-acetyl-morphine is relatively conclusive of recent heroin use, but is only detectable for a few hours after use. The presence of codeine can be the result of either heroin or codeine use. The presence of morphine can be the result of the use of heroin, codeine, or morphine. Relative levels of codeine and morphine can help determine their origin.
With the new higher cutoff levels (2,000 ng/ml), Heroin use will generally only produce a positive test result for a day after single use (somewhat longer with chronic use).
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