If you want to make sure that your trucking company is adhering to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations, you will need to have a system set up to administer drug and alcohol tests as needed. You probably already know that you need to do pre-employment testing, as well as testing after accidents and testing when you have reasonable suspicion to believe that an employee has violated the rules. But you will also need to perform random screenings when necessary. Here is a guide to random screenings and how they affect your business:
How many random drug tests must be administered each year?
According to DOT regulations, your company needs to perform a certain number of random drug and alcohol tests annually. The minimum number of random alcohol tests administered every year is 10 percent of the average number of drivers who are employed at your company. The minimum number of random tests for controlled substances is 25 percent of the average number of drivers you employ.
Can an employee be subjected to a random drug test more than once a year?
Yes, employees are not removed from the random testing pool after they have been tested, so they can be tested again if they are randomly selected again.
Are employees who are not full-time drivers included in the random drug tests?
If an employee at your company is licensed to drive a commercial vehicle and may be asked to drive at any time as a part of his or her job duties, then that employee needs to be included in the random drug tests.
What if I have driving positions that are not currently filled?
If you have driving positions at your company that are vacant, you do not need to include those when calculating the percentage of drivers you employ so you can administer random drug tests.
HDS Safety Services offers a wide array of important services for companies that require drivers, including establishing good hiring practices, performing drug and alcohol testing, and maintaining driver qualification files. If you’d like to learn more about how our services can help your company, call us today at (520) 622-0419.
