Drug testing

Scope

Testing drivers for the presence of controlled substances is required by Part 382 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. The regulations require pre-employment, post-accident, random, reasonable suspicion, return-to-duty, and follow-up testing.

Regulatory citations

• 49 CFR Part 382 — Controlled substances and alcohol use and testing
• 49 CFR Part 40 — Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs

Key definitions

• Drugs (controlled substances): The drugs for which tests are required under this part and DOT agency regulations are marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, phencyclidine (PCP), and opioids.
• Driver: Any person who operates a commercial motor vehicle. This includes, but is not limited to full time, regularly employed drivers; casual, intermittent or occasional drivers; leased drivers and independent owner-operator contractors.
• Employer: A person or entity employing one or more employees (including an individual who is self-employed) subject to DOT agency regulations requiring compliance with Part 40. The term includes an employer’s officers, representatives, and management personnel. Service agents are not employers for the purposes of Part 40.
• Laboratory: Any U.S. laboratory certified by HHS under the National Laboratory Certification Program as meeting the minimum standards of Subpart C of the HHS Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs; or, in the case of foreign laboratories, a laboratory approved for participation by DOT under 49 CFR Part 40.
• Medical review officer (MRO): A person who is a licensed physician and who is responsible for receiving and reviewing laboratory results generated by an employer’s drug testing program and evaluating medical explanations for certain drug test results.
• Safety-sensitive function: Drivers are considered to be performing a safety-sensitive function during any period in which they are actually performing, ready to perform, or immediately available to perform any safety-sensitive functions.
  Safety-sensitive functions shall include:
  • All time at an employer or shipper plant, terminal, facility, or other property, or on any public property, waiting to be dispatched, unless the driver has been relieved from duty by the employer;
  • All time inspecting equipment as required by 392.7 and 392.8 or otherwise inspecting, servicing, or conditioning any commercial motor vehicle at any time;
  • All time spent at the driving controls of a commercial motor vehicle in operation;
  • All time, other than driving time, in or upon any commercial motor vehicle except time spent resting in a sleeper berth (a berth conforming to the requirements of 393.76 of this sub-chapter);
  • All time loading or unloading a vehicle, supervising, or assisting in the loading or unloading, attending a vehicle being loaded or unloaded, remaining in readiness to operate the vehicle, or in giving or receiving receipts for shipments loaded or unloaded; and
  • All time repairing, obtaining assistance, or remaining in attendance upon a disabled vehicle.
• Substance abuse professional (SAP): A person who evaluates employees who have violated a DOT drug and alcohol regulation and makes recommendations concerning education, treatment, follow-up testing, and aftercare.

Summary of requirements

Drivers of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) that require a commercial driver’s license (CDL) to operate must be included in their carrier’s Part 382 Drug Testing Program. There are six types of DOT drug tests: