A group which represents some of the largest carriers in the country says that the number one safety concern confronting trucking right now is illicit drug use. Their solution? Hair testing.
The Trucking Alliance told the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee that the industry-standard urine testing for pre-employment drug screenings are insufficient. Instead, the Alliance is asking for hair testing to be allowed to take the place of urine testing.
In its request, the Alliance says it analyzed the test results of 151,662 driver applicants to its carriers who all underwent both hair and urine testing. According to the Alliance, only 949 applicants failed urine sample tests, but 8,878 applicants failed hair sample tests.
“Put another way, the urinalysis missed 9 out of 10 actual illicit drug users,” said the Alliance.
The Alliance then goes on to claim that if those numbers were expanded across the whole industry, around 300,000 current truck drivers would fail a hair test due to illicit drugs including cocaine, 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,” said the Alliance according to Fleetowner.
But critics of hair testing have pointed out in the past that the technique can actually produce more false positives than urine testing. Additionally, exposure to even trace amounts of second-hard smoke can show up as a positive result in hair testing.
Though The Trucking Alliance claims that this is the number one safety issue, there is nothing preventing hair testing from being carried out right now. In fact, many Alliance member carriers are already using hair testing as part of their pre-employment screenings. If the Alliance can get Congress to pressure the Department of Health and Human services to come up with hair testing guidelines however, they’d be one step closer to having hair testing eliminate the need for a urine test. If that happens, large carriers could be saving around $70 per applicant.
Source: gobytrucknews, overdrive, fleetowner, truckersreport, truckersreport, truckersreport, truckersreport
Hair testing goes back further in time than urine testing. A person could have used Marijuana, legally, several months prior, but did not use it again after starting classes to be a CDL driver. So that person could be drug free for several weeks. Now they apply to a company and get hair tested for use that was prior to them becoming a driver. I see the law suits flying on this one. You can’t hold a person to a standard that didn’t apply before they opted for this profession. The firm of Burn ’em and Run is already drawing up the lawsuits for when the hair testing standard goes into place.
Number one problem in trucking? Some of the worst driving Ive witnessed in 24 yrs. From the trucks that speed up to not be passed, to piss poor lane management, to drivers with phones up to their ears, to this new “whip your truck into a lane change”, to no signal to change lanes, merge or even exit highways…its pathetic. Of course the avg car driver is mentally challenged, so one cannot expect a CDL to change a mentality.
Amen!
Why is the number 1 safety concern always equal to their agenda? Driver shortage, sleep apnea, blah blah blah.
Right on, you hit the nail on the head. They’re full of ****.
This is total crap and they know it. Drug use in trucking is probably among the lowest in any industry, or it used to be. It may be on the rise due to the dregs of society that large trucking companies are hiring, in order to fill seats. Hair follicle testing can go back years, which is why people are refusing or failing. I’m a firm believer that people change. I was a daily weed smoker until I decided to drive for a living. An occasional “hit” does not make you a habitual user. By occasional, I mean once every three or four years, in my case. And NEVER when I have to drive.
So true. And what about people that live in states where weed is legal? Picture this, driver heads home, smokes LEGAL weed, then test positive four weeks later. WTF?
Yup that’s all it is to put a warm body in a seat you are exactly right
From what has been going on lately what I see as a main safety concern is already in law. Drivers who do not read or speak ENGLISH. They don’t know what warning signs are and have no idea what to do. Enforce what’s already on the books and stop screwing with American truckers. BTW prosecute the broad who’s head of fmsca for her and her husband’s illegal crap
A load of BS.
I feel that the number 1 safety concern is actually distracted driving.
The false positive issue with hair testing is a red flag. If its not accurate, what’s the point. Take a look at the statistics in all of these accidents and you’ll see drugs are not the problem, hand held electronics however are.
I’m a libertarian, as such I’m offended by the drug war in principal. Since I’m not a user, I loose nothing by taking drug tests.
I also own a small trucking company, and thought I knew my people, sometimes I’m rather surprised.
It’s taken years to learn how to spot the addicts so I never hire them in the first place.
Lastly, the fewer people in this business, the more money we make, so if hair testing weeds them out, I’ll live with it.
After all, when there’s an accident, if the driver is a user, I could loose everything.
And, the other 8 families that eat from this company, would go hungry too.
When you agree to do this job you have to know that you are in a position that you have to stop doing things that you might have done before but I think what I did 1 year ago on a birthday or with a get together with my old friends on my time is wrong no matter how you look at it hell I don’t drink but some drivers do but I bet at least 85 to 90 percent are sober when they climb into the cab.
That’s one long *** sentence.
Living in a marijuana legal state, you start to see guys that have been working at the same company with you for years get fired. We just lost one that had over 20 years experience for weed, I saw in him the store shortly after he had been fired and he said that he was surprised that he was caught. He claims that he has been smoking his entire career.
Just switch over to hair follicles and stop complaining
Right on..
My saftey director told me that three guys just failed their piss test. One was for coke, the other meth, and last marijuana. They all had to do counseling to keep their jobs but the weed smoker gets tested once a week! What the hell is going on with the dot? This is a joke! FTP!
Why is the reporting limits for Thc so much less than the more harmful drugs?
A company wants to get rid of you it’s pretty easy. Hell back in when I was in the service I got hit for a random 6 hours after surgery and they tried to chapter me out for the codeine that was in my military prescription and I’ve never touched something not prescribed but I know people that smoke and threshold is so low that sitting on their couch i might pick up enough to test hot in a hair test despite not being around when they smoke or smoking myself.
The purpose of the pre-employment drug screen is to eliminate drug users from being hired. How can they then apply the same percentage ratio to the ones that got hired? That’s like saying a 20 year driver has the same chance of failing a driving test as the newbie.
You can be clean and sober for a year and still fail a hair test. Probably why so many more people fail them. Why take a test that you know you’ll fail? But, thinking it’s been 9-18 months since you last used, more likely to think you’re ok to go.
I think the hair test is faulty only in the secondhand smoke aspect.
From what has been going on lately what I see as a main safety concern is already in law. Drivers who do not read or speak ENGLISH. They don’t know what warning signs are and have no idea what to do. Enforce what’s already on the books and stop screwing with American truckers. BTW prosecute the broad who’s head of fmsca for her and her husband’s illegal crap
Continue to legalize drugs and the entire work force will be that way. We will have no choice but to rely on foreign products because the work force will be to doped up to do anything. And of course the gov wants it that way because when your doped you don’t tgink clearly.
Baloney! Do you know even one person who wants to do drugs but isnt because it is illegal? I sure dont. Everyone who wants to already is.
Currently impaired….thats the important test. Why are tests for current impairment not being developed? And why are these companies, who whine about a driver shortage, so quick to eliminate potentially thousands of likely safe drivers from the labor pool? There is more to this than saving 70 bucks per drug test.
If you.use drugs, dont drive at all, specially a commercial.vehicle,
If you.are “medicated”, with oxys, maryjuana, or other drug, the lab.will.call.you for a medical prescription.and your company should have it on your file, same goes for alcohol based medicines.
Problem with this is recruiters, they see a report and mark the driver as drug addict, even has the hypocrisy to send a card advising to search for.help, i.e schneider and jbhunt, even with the doctors, change the results due having prescription.they mark.and burn the driver… that should be illegal. But the have the money.to pay for lobbing and.mega lawyers..
Really? If you ask most experienced drivers they’ll tell the number one safety concern is large carriers hire drivers and training them with unqualified drivers while operating the training truck as a team truck.