FMCSA toughens stance on banned commercial drivers
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is taking a tougher stance against commercial drivers with drug violations.
It wants to prohibit state driver’s licensing agencies (SDLAs) from issuing, renewing, upgrading, or transferring a commercial driver’s licence or learner’s permit to anyone prohibited from driving a commercial vehicle due to substance abuse.
“The CMV driving ban is intended to keep these drivers off the road until they comply with return-to-duty requirements.”
– Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration .
“The CMV driving ban is intended to keep these drivers off the road until they comply with return-to-duty requirements,” the FMCSA said in a notice of proposed rulemaking published this week in the Federal Register.
The substance abuse information is obtained through the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse that went online in early January.
The agency said it is also exploring ways to make easier for the SDLAs to use the data to increase compliance with the CMV driving prohibition.
In its first weeks of operation, the Clearinghouse had identified nearly 8,000 violations.
“These proposed changes would improve highway safety by increasing compliance with existing drug and alcohol program requirements,” the agency said.
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The US must have the same LAWS for ALL-STATE. If need be to hire more inspectors to clean up the Independent and Company drivers use drugs to keep driving.