Drug Alcohol Consortium

If ANY CDL holder is found operating a CDL required CMV by a state enforcement officer and it is determined they have been disqualified to operate said vehicle FOR ANY REASON. The authority holder is going to get fined. There is a chance the driver could be detained or put OOS. The vehicle is going to be impounded in almost every case until some money is paid.

The problem I have with this question is there is not a single authority holder out there who is going to allow a disqualified driver to operate a CMV. The carriers are required to check before hiring you. If on the other hand, you just tried to get another job and for some reason tested hot or did not test at all for a pre-employment drug test. You might have ended your career, nobody will hire you. I think your "friend" needs to start brushing up on their burger flipping skills!

 

I first read this as booger flipping skills

 

Hey isn’t there an art to flipping boogers.

 

Tell your friend to find a smaller carrier that has more flexible hiring requirements. Most larger carriers will not hire your friend due to insurance reasons. Once picked up he or she will have to do a return to duty drug or alcohol screen.

Once the RTD process is completed, your friend will be subjected to at least one year's worth of random drug/alcohol screens. These tests will run $39-$79 and the carrier may or may not absorb those costs. There will be a minimum of 5 or 6 tests that need to be completed before the final step of his SAP program is completed.

Even with everything knocked out, some companies will not be able to touch your friend for 3-5 years, although his odds will greatly improve since the burden of having him do constant random testing is completed. After 5 years of completion the Clearinghouse will automatically kick his record out of the system and he will be good to go from there.

Few words of advice.

This November or so the rules will change again. In addition to having a commercial driving restriction, if you don't at least start the RTD process your CDL will be automatically downgraded. Right now around 170,000 people are in SAP purgatory and only around 35,000 or so have even started the RTD process.

If your friend can't find work, tell him to eat some humble pie and lower his expectations because they aren't looking low enough. Smaller construction companies and private fleet carriers with a 3-5 truck fleet may be his best or only option. If he does find someone willing to pick them up, bite the bullet no matter how much the job sucks until the program is completed. They may not find another company if that one doesn't work out.

Best of luck.

 

Been driving a long time but didn't know he had to be in a drug/alcohol consortium?

Yeah, I'm not buying that.

 

It's all in the wrist action!

 

You can either fail a test or refuse to take one. Those are the only two negative outcomes that the Clearinghouse tracks.

 

And now the DOT checks the clearinghouse during an inspection. Just got level twood in n NM and I believe it’s part of the E-Screening.