The American Trucking Associations urged the United States Congress to help keep drug and alcohol abusers off the road and improve safety on the nation's highways by supporting efforts to enhance drug and alcohol testing for the nation's 3.4 million truck drivers.
Testifying on behalf of ATA before the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Greer Woodruff, senior vice-president of corporate safety and security for J B Hunt Transport Services Inc, made five recommendations for improving drug and alcohol testing programs for commercial vehicle drivers.
ATA urged 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 hiring.
The association also asked Congress to encourage the Department of Transportation 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 US Department of Transportation to initiate a rulemaking that allows testing of hair as an alternative to urine; and improving oversight of specimen collection facilities and practices.