Drug and Alcohol Testing for CDL Drivers Under 49 CFR Part 382

Summary

All companies employing Class A or Class B commercial drivers who operate vehicles over 26,000 pounds GVWR, are required to implement a random drug and alcohol testing program. This includes owner-operators or single person firms where the owner of the company is the only commercial driver.

Class A and Class B CDL drivers who drive a commercial vehicle over 26,000 gvw are required under federal law to be in a drug and alcohol testing "pool" and remain available for random selection throughout the year. Drug screens are NOT part of the bi-annual DOT physical.

What is Required for Compliance?

Full compliance requires a written drug and alcohol policy that meets the standards of the DOT, at least one supervisor trained in reasonable suspicion awareness, pre-employment drug tests, signed driver program participant agreements, a scientifically valid pool with random testing at 50% for drugs and 10% for alcohol spread throughout the year, and DOT record keeping.

Drug & Alcohol Policy	Scientifically Valid Pool
Supervisory Training	Quarterly Selections
Program participant agreements	Chain of Custody Forms
MIS Reporting

Random Selection Process

The selection process must assure fairness in testing with no violation of drivers' rights of privacy, rights of confidentiality or rights against wrongful termination. Regulations require the use of a scientifically valid method of selection such as a computerized random program. The Transportation Advisor uses Drug PAK, LLC a nationally recognized software program.

Record Keeping Requirements

Besides the coordination of the drug and alcohol tests, companies are required to maintain quarterly reports, annual reports, annual statements regarding selection process employed, transfer all driver records, and report results of your program to the DOT as required.

How Does Outsourcing Work?

Companies without a full time safety and compliance department may not have the expertise on staff to handle this issue, and may elect to outsource this function to a third party administrator (TPA). A third party administrator is a private company who acts in your behalf to provide your company with a cost-effective compliance program. A TPA provides your initial policy, training for the supervisors and drivers, makes selections from their random pool, coordinates all drug and alcohol testing with the approved medical facility, prepares all quarterly and annual reports, transfers all records when required and files MIS reports to the DOT as required, all for a very nominal annual fee.

Enroll Now

Contact The Transportation Advisor to discuss your compliance needs with one of our compliance specialists.  Let us show your company how to quickly and cost-effectively meet the challenges of a federally mandated random drug and alcohol testing program.  

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