ARLINGTON, Va. — A high-profile carrier in the U.S. stood before U.S. decision makers this week and urged them to step-up enforcement and testing of drug and alcohol use by drivers in the trucking industry.

Greer Woodruff, senior vice president of Corporate Safety and Security for transportation logistics provider J.B. Hunt Transport Services, made the appeal before the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, on behalf of the American Trucking Associations.

“Trucking has worked diligently to eradicate drug and alcohol abuse from its work force. And we’ve made great strides in recent years,” said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. “But now, trucking is looking to the government for additional help.”

Tougher drug testing rules in the U.S. could
complicate things further for Canuck truckers.

ATA wants Congress to authorize and fund a centralized clearinghouse for positive drug and alcohol testing results of commercial drivers to ensure that motor carrier employers are aware of previous positive test results during the hiring process.

The association also asked the DOT to implement an incentive-based random testing rate requirement and focus on motor carriers with above average positive test results. Recommendations further included banning the manufacture, sale and distribution of products that help drivers evade drug tests and penalizing those who use them; directing the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the U.S. DOT to initiate a rulemaking that allows the testing of hair as an alternative to urine, and improving oversight of specimen collection facilities and practices.

While many of those rules could cut down the rate of drug and alcohol use among U.S. drivers, Canadian cross-border carriers — who are also required to test drivers for drugs in order to operate into the U.S. — could find themselves in a bind with Canadian human rights watchdogs.

The legality of random drug testing in Canada (even for U.S. operations) is ambiguous, at best. While most Canadian carriers have no choice but to administer the tests in order to cross the border, the practice has been deemed discriminatory by more than one Human Rights Commission in this country.

Judges in Canada have reasoned that, unlike alcohol testing which categorically shows impairment, drug testing does not. So, a test can detect the presence of drugs long after the mind-altering effects have worn off, and is therefore out of bounds.

There have been some recent cases where commissions have shown a little more sympathy towards truck and bus fleets that operate in the U.S. when it comes to drug testing, but by no means is the issue settled in Canada. And these new rules being proposed in the U.S., could further complicate things for Canadian fleet managers who have to deal with Canada’s ‘rights’ police.

While ATA does not condone any level of drug abuse among the driver population, it reminds that the percentage has remained around 2 percent since required testing began in 1995. According to government reports, drug abuse in the trucking industry, as measured by a percentage of positive test results, is less than half of that found in the general work force.