Random... Do I have to go?

You can't go outside and wait, that is leaving the site and will be a refusal to test. Same as not showing up at all, a refusal to test will result in thousands of dollars spent on a substance abuse professional and disqualify your CDL priviledge until completed. Even after many companies won't take you on for a few years.

I don't remember if you have your own authority, thinking you do, and if so you can play dumb a bit because the notifications have some wiggle room built in for the designated employer representative (which by law needs to be someone other than you as the owner operator or it will be treated just as an employee driver) to get a driver near a collection site before notification. If you are a leased or employee driver and the motor carrier (or consortium if not using a seperate person as the DER) notified you of the random and you did not immediately go submit a sample you are already in violation and can be reported as a refusal to test.

Now that the clearinghouse is operational refusal to test will be caught more often, and the FMCSA has direct knowledge of refusals now which can result in more out of service orders being issued. Once the state licensing agencies comply with queries to the clearinghouse refusals and positives (which are the same thing in the eyes of DOT) it will result in automatic disqualification and downgrade of CDL licenses.

Go take the test, do not call your consortium or they will be required to report the non-compliance with the random test order to the clearinghouse since as the driver you were obviously notified of the test requirement and did not immediately comply. They do not have the power to tell you you can skip or reschedule the test unless you can provide a valid reason the driver is not available to test, and not wanting to be where sick people could be is not a vaild reason to refuse a test.

 

Wow, your bullying and belligerence is noted.
Shouldn't these so called collection points be giving up their medical supplies to the health care facilities that are on the front lines fighting this deadly virus?

Just wondering

 

Well....everywhere you go sick people exist......did you git er done?

 

I just had a random recently. It really wasn't anybody in the clinic but of course I went early. I didn't have to go to concentra....our company has a different clinic for testing

 

I mean......what real protection is there? We still gotta be out here. I don't see where the probability of contracting this goes down by shutting down clinics. People are still out and about as if the experts aren't warning everyone.

 

The strain that the coronavirus is placing on medical facilities is making it more difficult for carriers to fulfill some of the regulations for keeping drivers on the road legally and may require more action from federal regulators.

 

What happens if you ignore the notice or simply do not go in the allowed time frame? Your consortium will report a failure to test to the FMCSA clearinghouse and you will lose your CDL privileges until after you complete the return to duty process which takes months and costs thousands dollars. The FMCSA will shut you down and pull your operating authority for not being compliant with the drug testing program, so basically you will be out of business. It is not like the old days prior to the clearinghouse where you would only need to hope you were not audited within the next 6 months, now failure to test is reported directly to the FMCSA and they will take action to shut you down.

It may seem reasonable to you at this time to put off the test, and I understand your concerns -some which are valid with your father- however the rules do not make an exception and until the FMCSA decides to suspend the drug testing rules you still need to comply or face the consequences.

There are no self-collect options as this would make it easy for abusers to submit altered samples (NOT saying you are trying to fake the test) but the test must be collected by an approved technician at a place your drug testing consortium has approved. There simply is no legal way around this.

My best advice is to look at the approved collection locations listed when the consortium notified you of the test and pick the one least likely to have a lot of traffic and/or ill people at it. Example, if given the choice between a hospital collection site and an occupational medicine place like Concentra, take the occupational medicine site. If given the choice between one in a rural or city environment, take the rural location -preferably in a county that has not had a COVID-19 case yet.

I understand your concerns and wish I had better options to give you but unfortunately I do not. Look for the lowest traffic collection site you can use and take basic precautions to protect yourself. Be mindful of what you touch, wash your hands before and after your visit, etc. I wouldn't bother with a mask and be careful of excessive hand sanitizer use as it may contaminate the urine sample by showing as an adulterated specimen.

 

Unless you're a healthcare professional, you sir have no idea what you're talking about.

 

Who do you think the experts I'm referring to are? That would be health care professionals....DUH!