FMCSA doubles down on drug testing in 2020

 
By Wright Media staff
 
More drivers can expect to get that letter informing them to report for random drug testing this year as the FMCSA has increased its annual reporting rate for controlled substances among truck drivers in America to 50 percent because the rate of positive test results reached a 1.0 percent threshold in the previous recording cycle.
 
That means more than 2 million random drug tests will be conducted in 2020 resulting in an estimated $50-$70 million cost increase to the industry.
 
The previous testing rate for drivers of commercial motor vehicles requiring a CDL licenses was 25 percent, but the DOT directs the FMCSA administrator to increase the sampling when positive test results reach 1.0 percent, as they did in 2018.
 
The measure, issued Dec. 20 and reported in the Federal Register Dec. 27, went into effect Jan. 1, 2020.
 
The minimum annual percentage rate for random alcohol testing remains at 10 percent.
 
Word of the testing increase comes just weeks before the bulk of the CDL Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse rule takes effect, rules that establish driver registration and protocols for fleets doing background check on prospective employee drivers.

Industry executives estimate the clearinghouse could impact the driver pool by as much as 10 percent and increase pressure on capacity by perhaps 3 percent in the first six months of implementation.
 
Nearly 4,500 randomly selected motor carriers were selected for the 2018 survey. Nearly 2,000 of the forms were returned, resulting in useable data for 300,635 CDL drivers from 1,552 carriers. The non-useable data represented entities that are out of business, exempt, have no testing program in place or belong to some consortia that did not test any drivers for the carrier during 2018.
 
In 2016 and 2017, the document said, the estimated positive usage rate was 0.7 to 0.8 percent, resulting in the 25 percent sampling size going forward.
 
Based on the 2018 results, the estimated percentage of subject motor carriers with random drug and alcohol testing programs is 94 percent with 99 percent driver participation. The FMCSA estimates there are 3.2 million CDL holders operating in interstate commerce and 1 million CDL holders operating in intrastate commerce. The increased testing is expected to result in approximately 2.1 million random tests in the calendar year.
 
“Not only is it a financial hit that no one was expecting, it’s disappointing to know that more drivers are testing positive for using drugs,” Dave Osiecki, president and CEO of Scopelitis Transportation Consulting, was quoted in a recent article by FreightWaves.