The U.S. Department of Transportation is proposing new drug testing guidelines that would allow motor carriers to test truck drivers using saliva samples as an alternative to urine testing.
In its 119-page Federal Register announcement published February 25, DOT said that such tests “…will give employers a choice that will help combat employee cheating on urine drug tests and provide a more economical, less intrusive means of achieving the safety goals of the program.”
“Unlike directly observed urine collections, an oral fluid collection is much less intrusive on the tested employee’s privacy,” DOT said.
ICSA will be closely monitoring the proposal and will keep its members informed. Meanwhile, ICSA requires hair testing of drivers for carriers that wish to be considered for Platinum-level membership as required to take advantage of our low-cost insurance coverage. See Mike Hitchcock’s Coaching Corner in this newsletter for an overview of hair testing.
Several lawsuits were filed challenging the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) independent contractor (IC) regulation enacted by the Biden Administration and the DOL’s Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su in early 2024.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in a Federal Register notice published April 1, denied a petition from the Institute for Safer Trucking (IST) requesting an investigation of collisions that van-type semi-trailers experience with passenger vehicles and other vulnerable road users.
ICSA representatives attended the TCA Truckload event, the preeminent event hosted by the Truckload Carriers Association, held in our hometown of Phoenix, AZ. We also attended the Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS), the largest trucking show in North America, held in Louisville, KY.