drug testing for owner operator - timelines

Thanks. I called them a little while ago and this is the same thing they told me. They mail out the notices and when you receive it you have to call and schedule a test immediately but if you are not home to receive the notice it is no problem, If you are not there to receive your mail they understand that,

 

So what happens if you are in out of the country for 2 months snorting Coke with Colombian Hookers and you get a Email that you need a test ?

 

Ha. If you are out of the country for 2 months snorting coke with hookers, I don't think you need to worry about coming back to work. Delete.

 

Like I said I don't use drugs but I find their policy kind of strange. I think most hard drugs clear out of your system in a week or two. Pot stays much longer. It seems if someone was a hard drug user and they got a notice to test they could clean up for a couple weeks and then go take their test saying they didn't get the notice because they were on the road.

 

Apparently, being "on the road" is no excuse. There are testing centers nationwide, and I think you have like 2 or 3 hours to report to one.

 

You didn't read, They MAIL you the notification to go test. Not email. I know there are testing centers everywhere but If you are not home you can't get your mail. I specifically asked them about the scenario of being on the road as I am often gone 2-3 weeks at a time. They said as soon as you get the letter you have to report but if you are not there to get it then there is no way to know until you get home and get your mail.

 

Guys, this is an old forum, but I wanted to bring this up for any new O/O's out there that are OTR guys that are out for 2 and 3 weeks at a time. The worry is them only mailing the notice to your home address and you not receiving it until it's far to late after you get back from being on the road.

It's 2022. If you are in a consortium that does NOT send a letter by mail, also and email, and also a cellphone call, then you are with the wrong one. Get into another one. Here is another thing you can do if you are real paranoid and want your t's crossed and i's dotted. I do this two times per year. I get a nail test I know, paranoid, right? I get finger nail testing 2 times per year from Lapcorp on my own. I pay this out of my own pocket. It has nothing to do with the consortium. It costs 120 bucks per test, but nail tests go back a minimum of the past 6 months and sometimes up to 9 months. I do this as piece of mind just in case heaven's forbid you had a corrupt psychopath at the lab who literally is just messing with tests, or you get some clerical era or technicality in reporting, or you get a lazy ##* at the consortium who dials the wrong cell phone number when notifying you (they miss one of the digits) or the email they send is a typo and one letter or number is off. Do not let something like this ruin your career. If you do a nail test every 6 months, you have a drug test that covers 6 months. If for some God unknown reason you had one of things above go wrong, you will be covered. You could dispute the test and you would be fine as having showed not just the one nail test, but imagine when you build up 3 or 4 years worth of negatives every 6 months. You will win that dispute.

Disclaimer- if you are doing drugs, well obviously that is a whole other ballgame. You would be waisting your time getting nail tests. I have done this for years as a peace of mind, and it takes errors committed by OTHER people OFF the table. Again, if you are doing drugs though, then that's a whole other conversation.

 

Wow. If I lived my life in that state of paranoia I don’t know if I would be be able to keep going. If it makes you feel better have at it but honestly I don’t care that much about my CDL. I value it and think it is important but I am not going to live my life like the bogeyman is out to get me.

 

Do you go somewhere and they clip your nail to do the test?

If you clip it and send it somewhere, who’s to say that is really your nail?

Either way, sounds like a giant waste of money to me.

 

Seems more like slave mentality than paranoia.