O'Connor Law

Because truck drivers often suffer from fatigue or sleeping problems as a result of the unrealistic schedules imposed on them by their companies, there are many truck drivers that use drugs or alcohol to sleep, wake up, or combat depression. Although drivers may initially be cautious, their use turns to addiction and overrides their caution, making them much more likely to get in an accident on the road. To prevent the threat of drug and alcohol abusers from driving large trucks, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rules demand that all drivers undergo six types of drug and alcohol use tests:

• Pre-employment
• Reasonable suspicion
• Post-Accident
• Random
• Return-to-duty
• Follow-up

These rules are designed to prevent drivers who abuse alcohol and/or drugs from getting on the road, and they seem a significant safeguard against abusing drivers sitting behind the wheel of an 18-wheeler, but they are lacking for several reasons.

1. First, the employer gets to perform all tests and determines what constitutes "reasonable suspicion" of drug or alcohol abuse.
2. Second, all tests are conducted in two phases, a screening test and a confirmation test. Since these are administered by the employer, it is possible for the employer to help employees pass the confirmation test by waiting a significant length of time before performing it.
3. Third, in terms of drug abuse, the employee is contacted before the employer and given a chance to explain any positive tests with "legitimate medical use." Many drug users know how to explain away positive results.
4. Fourth, only five drugs are tested for:

• Marijuana
• Cocaine
• Amphetamines
• Opiates
• Phencyclidine

Drugs other than these five can pass undetected, and all drivers know this list and know what they can get away with.

As a result of these weak rules on drug and alcohol testing, a number of drivers with habitual patterns of drug and alcohol abuse continue to get on the road, endangering you and your family. If you have suffered as a result of a truck accident involving drug or alcohol abuse, contact the law firm of Michael J. O'Connor & Associates, LLC today for a free initial consultation and case review.