The increasing number of full queries made into the federal Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse is evidence that the database is taking drug abusers off the road as intended, according to a trucking regulatory expert.
According to the latest monthly statistics released Monday by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, full queries into the clearinghouse increased 33% to 13,785 between October and November, which followed a 61% increase between September and October. Full queries are conducted by employers on current drivers after receiving a “hit” on those drivers through a limited query.
A major motivation for the FMCSA’s clearinghouse, which opened on Jan. 6, was to close a loophole that had allowed drivers with drug or alcohol violations to get hired by trucking companies by lying about test failures.
“Drivers with violations are getting caught in the clearinghouse net, as intended,” David Osiecki, president and CEO of Scopelitis Transportation Consulting, told FreightWaves.
Also of note in the latest statistics, Osiecki said, was a 54% month-over-month increase in the number of limited queries into the database. “This is a clear sign employers are complying with the annual query requirement for their current drivers,” he said.
Employers — including owner-operators operating under their own authority — are required to run at least one query of their employees per year. The requirement can be met by conducting either a full or limited query. Employers have until Jan. 5 to perform their first annual query.
Osiecki pointed out one concerning trend throughout the 11 months that the clearinghouse has been up and running: the low percentage of drivers with violations who have been treated and cleared for return to duty, which affects overall driver retention in the trucking industry.
While that percentage has increased from roughly 5% earlier in the year to 11% in November, the number is “still stubbornly low,” he said, and “bears close watching going forward.”
Meanwhile, the number of drivers failing drug tests fell 12.7% in November compared to the previous month. As of Dec. 1, marijuana has been by far the No. 1 substance identified in 50,627 positive drug tests submitted since the clearinghouse began operating in January, at 53%. Cocaine was next at 14.3%, followed by methamphetamines at 9%.
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Yea Sure
I never liked weed. Tried it as a teen and hated it. I don’t drink cuz I’m on Meds for B.P. Yet, I’m stuck in this crap web for 5 yrs because of Coca De Mate. (A tea my brother brought as part of some gifts from a trip to Columbia.) Most is De-cocainized. The vendor told him this one is. (Brother was afraid he’d get caught at customs and specifically asked for De-cocainized.) Anyhow, I’m 56. This B.S. will follow me to retirement. I am driving again, with a very cool company and a great boss. 5 yrs is a ridiculous amount of time to carry this around. I took the class, they got their $1000.00. knock it down to 12-24 mos for people that take the class. BTW…no accidents here either! Ridiculous!!!
WhatAJokeFMCSA is
Marijuana is number 1 by far. The fairness of this test is beyond ridiculous. Someone can drink, smoke crack, shoot dope, do meth, pop pills and still give a clean urine. All they have to do is drink water and flush their system. Someone can use marijuana for a couple months while not working. Stop smoking. And still fail a random urine. Months after having last smoked. If the drug testing program is meant to keep addicts off the road. Why not test for pot in a way that more acurately pin points when they last smoked? Why not actually be fair? I smoked from April 2020-July 2020. Last time I smoked was July 18. I took a random on September 29. I failed. 73 days later, it was still in my system. I was not working when I smoked. I was a bus driver, we were shut down. I was home, lonely, bored, depressed, anxious, tense, nervous and worst of all I could not sleep. So I self medicated with a plant that is not harmful to me, causes no harmful side effects and harms no one. Yet here I am. If I want to continue driving I have to pay $500 and go thru a “treatment” program. I stopped, easily. Wtf do I need treatment for? Oh yeah that’s right. A bureaucrat who grew up in a closet and takes $$ from special interests knows better than I do. I harmed no one, no property. There was 0 potential for that to happen. I wasn’t driving. But, all the alphabets dgaf. Thanxfor over regulating and casting a nice wide net. I dont want my cdl anymore.
Mike stallden
So what happens when we loose 80% of the drivers
Kenneth Love
I can first had say rules are rules until you have experience a big problem and dont know how to solve the problem. Never smoked dope in my life my Doctor advised me to try CBD SOFTGELS THC FREE. wow did it help until I was ready to return to driving again when I went for a new hire drug test and 26 nanograms showed up as THC in my urine. DOT RULES AND REGULATIONS are 15 nanograms so I am now a dope head I have challenged this but no help no respect for drivers with over 28 years of driving.
Jomama
People getting tired on what they can do and can’t. Been driving 13yrs if you can get paid $15 to flip a burger why not? Trucking companies rob you blind. We under Federal Regulations and get paid with peanuts. Time you take healthcare out you’re broke. Weed industry pays more than trucking js. When is last time your boss treat you to a steak oh wait he or she won’t.
John page
This is Very. Unfair to the Truck Driver Who Give Their Life to Drive..!! Do What They Love/Trained For.. Make Their Living to Support Their Family..!!! To Lose Your Job/Future..!! Behind a Positive Drug Test For Weed.. Is Wrong…. #Sad. Test The One’s Work the FMCSA.. Hold Them to The Same Standards.. They Enforce.!!!!!
Calvin Hall
Totally agree Hand 20 year plus & pretty much smoked the whole time YEAH LOST A HELLUVA GOOD JOBS ◀ & proud ta say driver NO CHARGEABLE ACCIDENTS. Actually was N the top SAFETY & REVENUE @ 1 company & TOP HAND @ A few more IVE driven for DL CAN PROVE IT….POINT IS THE CEOS NEEDS 2 B 1ST N THE TESTING LINE…..$LO’LEAK I’M BACK’OUT
Ted wrifht
As older experienced drivers age out and Congress legalizes weed for everyone but transportation. Why would anyone choose to be a driver and work for less than minimum wage and you can’t participate in what’s legal for everyone else. 80+hrs a week into 44k a year gross is less than $9 hr.
Keith Laird
I personally don’t think that it’s drugs that are to blame I think that the big CEO office has been the problem for the industry that we as truck drivers know that and I quote ” swift,Werner, prime and cr England are all pushing for these people to give us more regulations to get rid of the the mom and pop o/o so that they can suck the life out more snowflakes who wreck trucks and make our roadways unsafe and further more oh yeah your living and breathing here’s your CDL now your truck driver no wonder this industry has about killed me