Trucker Drug and Alcohol Abuse: The Real Facts
Drug and alcohol abuse play a major role in the number of automobile and truck accidents in Missouri and throughout the country every year. Because of this, truck companies are supposed to enforce a zero tolerance drug and alcohol policy for their truck drivers; however, accidents still occur while truck drivers are under the influence of one or both.
Commercial truck drivers can be under great deals of pressure and often have very strenuous schedules. These sorts of conditions can easily lead a trucker to employ controlled substances to assist him or her in fighting fatigue, the number one cause of St. Louis truck accidents as well as collisions across the nation. However, combating fatigue with drugs or alcohol is no solution. Using drugs or alcohol while driving a tractor trailer can lead to cloudy judgment and slower reflexes, both of which contribute to driver error.
In a study conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board, the Board concluded that one-third (33%) of all the truck drivers studied, who died in a highway accident had recently used drugs or alcohol, based upon the examination of their bodies after the accident. Of the one-third examined, cocaine, marijuana, alcohol and other various stimulants, including amphetamines, were discovered in their systems.
Currently, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requires motor carriers to provide on the job testing to 50 percent of their commercially licensed drivers annually for the use of controlled substances, and 10 percent of their commercially licensed drivers annually for alcohol. Although random tests do discover violations, in 2007, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) conducted an undercover investigation and discovered that it was surprisingly easy to cheat the randomly administered drug tests.
According to the GAO, 75 percent of the drug-testing sites did not restrict the drivers' access to items that can easily be used to dilute the urine sample, like water, soap and air fresheners. Additionally, the undercover GAO team purchased their own drug-masking chemicals and mixed them into real urine specimens, at the drug-testing site, without any problems. The reports of this study are troubling and shed light onto the extent of the real problem.
A recent study, conducted by FMCSA and undertaken while drivers where on the job, revealed that 2.0 percent of drivers with commercial driver's licenses (CDLs), in 2003, used some form of a controlled substance, and 0.2 percent used alcohol (0.04 BAC). Although these numbers do not seem staggering at first, it is important to remember that the data was collected via random testing and using the same testing procedure employed as that during the GAO's undercover investigation.
Any amount of drugs or alcohol present in a truck driver while performing job related duties is unacceptable and with over 4,000 miles of highway in Missouri, this sort of activity puts everyone on the road at risk.
The Missouri truck accident attorneys at Page Law always look to see if drugs or alcohol played a role in causing the truck collision. If you or anyone you know has been injured in a St. Louis truck related accident, please call John Page at Page Law for a free consultation. John can be reached by calling 1.800.500.4658 or 314.322.8515. He can also be reached by email at john@pagecagle.com.
