Survey Claims Drug-Using Drivers Are Evading DOT Detection

Thousands of licensed truck drivers have avoided serious consequences for drug use due to failings in the Transportation Department’s drug testing methods, survey findings suggest. 

The Alliance for Driver Safety & Security released a survey Oct. 11 suggesting that the urine tests DOT performed in 2021 flagged only a tenth of the drug-using drivers that hair analysis tests detected. 

The survey, which involved a review of 172,632 drug screening tests conducted for seven different trucking firms, contends that DOT’s reliance on urine analysis for drug testing leads to severe underreporting to the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. 

According to the group, 88,021 licensed truck drivers took both urine analysis and hair sample drug tests in 2021 as a condition for employment. Of those, urine analysis uncovered only 403 cases, whereas the hair test detected “a regular pattern of illegal drug use” in samples from 4,362 drivers. This includes “hard drugs like cocaine and heroin,” the alliance said. 

However, because DOT doesn’t accept hair analysis tests, those drivers avoided reporting to DOT’s Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, and “likely found truck driving jobs elsewhere.” 

The group has been promoting the idea of hair analysis as a more effective method of detecting drug use in drivers for some time, including reporting research on DOT’s underreporting of drug use among drivers in January and a requested change to DOT’s handling of drug information in August.