Rigged!

OK.

Well that's because the way the system evolved is there has to be an assumption of using drugs, because there has been in the past, it is a safeguard.

Yes that would, but there has to be latitude to ensure that the driver is off the road, there is no mandate to do so and it would be near impossible to do so.

If the driver misses the second test, that's all over for them. There is no excuse.

Well yes and no. I don't like the back office process we have to go through to get a driver back on the road but on the other hand, I think the programs shouldn't even exist, you have a confirmed positive, you lose your CDL, nothing else can get it back - this is for CONFIRMED POSITIVE.

Why should there be an incentive, I don't count it against anyone, like I don't when there is a criminal background - I have customers who require me to do thorough background checks and criminal records are to be reported to the customer, this is the only way I keep that contract. For the record, I have hired SAP drivers and so has others.

I see what you are getting at, I think there has to be a means of a safeguard, like a hearing by a board to make a final decision, this is the same problem with Violations and Warnings, there is no means to deal with warnings and it is abused by the cops.

 

My friend, you're missing the point. You must see things as they are and not how they "should be." I believe you when you say that you weren't on drugs. The perception is that if a driver refuses, or leaves the facility, then there's something to hide. In trucking, perception is reality. Drug testing is mandatory in this industry. They only followed what the regs say, right, wrong, or indifferent. Even if you went to court with this, they'd have to put you on a polygraph to establish that you're clean. So many instances in the past where drivers leave or refuse, and they ended up in the same situation. I feel badly for you, but the load wasn't the priority at that time, and as far as Western Express knew, it was a refusal. These big companies are all about the bottom line and they gotta protect themselves. Sometimes drivers get screwed in the process. It's a hard lesson to learn but one must be patient and ask more questions before going into business for themselves. Many say ignorance of the law isn't an excuse, and sometimes I think the needle should be moved, but it doesn't matter what any of us think. At least you know what to do next time when you get back in the game.

 

nope, not the name, it was a name created by my youngest when I had my 1971 Toyota HiLux.

don't take this wrong but I don't hire from Forums.

 

My thoughts exactly. The safety dept is the one who would be moreso in charge of that stuff. DMs ain't gonna be responsible for much

 

I used to work there. Now to be fair it's been over a decade since I worked there but if they follow the same protocols, what OP is claiming isn't quite accurate. I had one in each of the 3 trucks I was in while there. Now maybe companies might have drivers take pictures and send them to an email, as my company has asked me to do that. They may have gotten away from including the disposal camera. Regardless of, he should have got ahold to safety.

 

You don't necessarily have to sign for a company to put a blemish on your record. All Western Express knows is that they sent you to test that day. They have that on record. What they don't have on record is you completing the test. Y'all had dialogue so they're under the impression you were at the facility. Once you left, that gave Western all the leverage and left you with none. It was an error in judgment, a mistake. You'll have to own that. It's not to say you're on drugs or anything, it's just an ill- advised error

 

When my local 'turn key' MRO was snapped up by DISA [Drug Intervention Services of America] we were mandaated to use ONLY clinics using the new electronic 'Chain of Custody' format instead of the old paper multipage COC that was often carried on fleet units.

That information may be what the clinic was asking OP for at the begining of his situation.

Prior to the electronic COC, we had remote testing where the MRO overnighted the COC to the prospective driver's home with a local clinic appointment scheduled.

Afterward we just set it up and sent the prospective to the clinic with a reminder to be sure to bring their CDL with them as the clinic new their name and the CDL was proof as they were in the electronic system.

Not every testing companies is set up that way so OP needed something from the carrier [safety dept] to procede.

The requirement to stay in the clinic goes back to the inception of the Drug and Alcohol program over 30 years ago; however, the clearing house makes things worse.

The Clearinghouse was thought to be necessary as the FCMSA monitored the program results.

Back in '91 this all started with the required 50% drug testing rate with the possibility of reducing the percentage and the industry cleaned up and we were able to test less until the rising positive rates pushed it back up to 50% AND the larger carriers who invested in hair testing started to brag about those results compared to urine testing to the FCMSA and we got the clearing house.

Prior to the clearing house there were suposed 'loopholes'; most realistic but still dubious, was the working driver who attempts to try another job while on vacation but fails that whiz quizz and visions of greener grass fade as they return to their present job at the end of vacation with no body aware they failed.

Prior to the clearinghouse SAP drivers who did 'return to work' at the only places who would hire them at basement wages to drive junkwagons had their positive files sealed; it 'went away' after 5 years return to work success.

Not any more.....

 

Its been a long thread.. have you noticed that no one is siding with your story? Mainly this is because unlike some around here, they understand the simple process of the random drug screen process. You can have your own opinions, but you cannot have your own facts. At this point. your only use in staying here is just to be another example of what not to do, and what happens if you pretend to be ignorant and stick to that theory when absolutely everyone tells you different.