The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse has unquestionably achieved much of its intended purpose.
The burden of chasing down former employers of drivers in an effort to obtain drug and alcohol testing results has changed drastically. The required information is now just a query away in the Clearinghouse.
No more playing the system
One key benefit is that drivers who failed drug or alcohol tests are no longer able to apply to carrier after carrier in an attempt to find one that won’t perform background checks before making a hire.
Clearinghouse regulations specify that those drivers shouldn’t be eligible to perform safety-sensitive functions until they undergo a return to duty (RTD) program administered by a substance abuse professional (SAP) — but without a sound reporting system, states that issued CDLs to those drivers remained unaware.
All of that began to change in January 2017, the effective date of rule that established the Clearinghouse. Carriers are now required to report testing results to a central entity and query the same entity to review the records of prospective drivers.
Of course, it took a few years for the Clearinghouse database to build, but carriers could now determine if a driver was in a prohibited status with a few mouse clicks.
Phase II now in effect
A second final ruling, known as “Clearinghouse II,” took effect on November 18, 2024.
Under the provisions of the ruling, state driver’s licensing agencies (SDLAs) are now required to downgrade the licenses of any driver in a “prohibited” status until they’ve completed an RTD program as recorded in the Clearinghouse.
Before Phase II went into effect, state agencies had the ability to submit queries; however, the individual computer systems in each state weren’t always able to communicate with the Clearinghouse to receive status changes in a timely manner.
Now, all that’s changed.
For carriers, the implementation of Phase II is just one more reason a driver’s CDL might be suspended.
Carriers are often surprised when drivers receive a suspension due to unreported violations, unpaid tickets and, in some states, unpaid child support payments. Notices of suspension were often mailed to the driver’s home of record and were often unseen by drivers for long periods of time. That’s a problem when the driver gets pulled over and removed from behind the wheel, much to the surprise of the carrier.
During the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) Roadcheck 2024, conducted in May, 688 drivers were placed out of service (OOS) for “No Commercial Driver’s License.” Another 138 were OOS for “Suspended License or CDL.” Altogether, 30.5% of all driver OOS violations were due to CDL issues. Additionally, 63 drivers were identified as being in a “prohibited” status in the Clearinghouse.
As of September 2024, 178,360 CDL holders were listed as “prohibited” in the Clearinghouse database.
With states now required to suspend or downgrade CDLs, these numbers can only rise.
It will be increasingly important to make sure that the carrier is doing all it can to obtain this information, and the process starts with the written policy given to drivers during orientation. It should clearly state the driver’s responsibility to inform the carrier when any change to the CDL status occurs. Such a policy provides one more method of staying informed and failure to comply can be cited as an item in any remedial action taken against the driver.
Impact on carrier policy
During the 2024 Accelerate! Conference and Expo hosted by the Women In Trucking Association, a distinguished panel of drug and alcohol policy experts discussed the need for a strong policy that is clearly communicated.
“It needs to be in the policy for pre-employment,” said Mia Hicks, manager of risk and compliance at DISA Global Solutions. “We’re going to do this and if it escalates, we’re going to do that.”
While policies help clear up the process for drivers, other members of the team need to understand the company’s process, too. From the initial hiring process to areas like post-accident testing or employee self-identification as a user, fleet managers, safety personnel and others who have supervisory responsibility over drivers need to know how to react.
“Some of those common unintentional violations are, first and foremost, not immediately notifying the supervisor of an accident. Everything ties back to training,” Hicks explained. “Misinterpretation of the regulations, whether that’s the supervisor or the driver, making sure everyone is aware of what the requirements are up front is a huge help on the back end. People can’t say, ‘I didn’t know; I didn’t understand.’”
There’s another item that should be included in all drug and alcohol testing policies: The carrier retains the right to utilize oral fluid testing at its discretion.
That’s the topic of another final ruling, effective December 5, 2024. This rule clarifies qualification procedures for oral fluid collectors, including the training required. The original ruling specified that those who train the collectors have at least a year of experience performing collections, but until the program actually gets underway, no one will have ANY experience.
One issue the newest ruling did not fix is what collectors are to do with oral fluid specimens after collection. That’s because the original rule stated that use of oral fluid testing can’t start until the USDOT certifies two laboratories to test the specimens — something that still hasn’t happened.
Still, certification of labs could happen quickly, and carriers should be prepared to start testing as quickly as possible once it happens. It’s best to have policies updated before oral fluid testing actually begins.
“Oral fluid is a great resolution for things like shy bladder, and it eliminates the need for a direct observed collector being same sex,” Hicks remarked.
Oral fluid testing also eliminates any conflicts with a driver’s gender identification.
Hicks advises that carriers provide an authorization form for each driver who’s sent to a collection site. The form should contain clear indications of what type of testing is required, so there are no mix-ups. For carriers that perform both DOT and non-DOT testing, the form should clearly outline what tests are to be done.
While the FMCSA testing policy will undoubtedly see more changes in the future, a process for adapting policies and training everyone involved will be advantageous.
Cliff Abbott is an experienced commercial vehicle driver and owner-operator who still holds a CDL in his home state of Alabama. In nearly 40 years in trucking, he’s been an instructor and trainer and has managed safety and recruiting operations for several carriers. Having never lost his love of the road, Cliff has written a book and hundreds of songs and has been writing for The Trucker for more than a decade.
