While consuming alcohol is legal in all US states for adults over the age of 21, it's illegal for drivers to be under the influence while performing safety-sensitive tasks. Alcohol is known to cause an impaired sense of judgment and increased risky behavior on the road, which is why the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration [...]
For owner-operators, it’s critical for your business to stay in compliance with government regulations. Here’s an Owner Operator DOT compliance checklist to help you stay on top of the most common compliance requirements. 1) Drug and Alcohol Testing Owner-operators are required to participate in a Department of Transportation (DOT) Drug and Alcohol testing program. A [...]
The answer depends on whether the random selection program is a DOT regulated program or a non-DOT program. DOT has specific requirements. DOT Random Drug Testing In a DOT regulated random testing program, all random tests are supposed to be conducted in the period when the selections were made. An employee selected, for example, in [...]
As an Owner Operator, when you take on employees, your DOT FMCSA requirements change. 1) Written Drug & Alcohol Testing Policy Owner Operators do not really need to have a written substance abuse policy. Employers do. FMCSA regulation Part 382 specifically requires that employers have a written policy that is distributed to each driver. 362.601 [...]
What if a driver is involved in an accident? The rules for Post-Accident Testing state that if a vehicle is towed from the scene of an accident and the driver receives a traffic citation, that the employer must conduct a DOT Post-Accident Drug and Alcohol Test. Rule of Thumb: No ticket, no test. The Post-Accident [...]
DOT auditors are responsible for making sure employer are in compliance with the federal regulations for DOT drug and alcohol testing. We've compiled a DOT audit checklist that represent most of the records a DOT Agency and USCG auditor, inspector, or investigator will usually request and review during a program review. Keep in [...]
What happens in a DOT Audit? When it comes to FMCSA Drug Violations, here is what comes from the FMCSA: 1: Allowing a driver to operate with a suspended/revoked CDL Employers who were fined for allowing a driver to operate with a suspended/revoked CDL paid an average fine amount of $8,991. This is what [...]
The regulatory landscape in the transportation sector is changing rapidly. Amid the stringent regulatory requirements, even a small reporting or compliance mistake can land you in legal trouble and result in costly penalties. On top of that, a drop in your CSA score is sure to affect your business’s profitability. This is where a digitized [...]
The FMCSA requires employers of commercial truck and bus drivers to register for the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. The deadline for registration was January 5, 2021. Non-compliance could lead to criminal and civil lawsuits of up to $5833 for every offense. The FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse regulation went into effect on January 6, [...]
Of carriers audited by the DOT, only 7% pass without a violation. And those that don’t pass have an average of seven violations. Fines are usually “per violation,” which can mean a fine for each driver out of compliance. It adds up fast. DOT Regs and Challenges Since its founding in 1966, the U.S. [...]
