The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is the United States Department of Transportation agency that regulates the trucking industry and bus/motor coach industry. The FMCSA holds motor carriers and drivers responsible for meeting safety standards and regulations. A big part of those safety requirements is the drug and alcohol testing program.
The FMCSA, along with the Department of Transportation (DOT), requires that individuals subject to commercial driver’s license (CDL) requirements and their employers follow drug and alcohol testing rules.
Drug testing for all DOT-regulated employers and employees is described in 49 CFR Part 40. In addition to Part 40, each agency has its own separate rules and regulations.
The rules include procedures for testing, frequency of tests, and substances tested for.
Part 382 establishes programs intended to help prevent accidents and injuries resulting from the misuse of alcohol or use of controlled substances by drivers of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs).
All FMCSA Employers should become familiar with both Part 40 and Part 382.
Our FMCSA Program Includes
Does My Organization Qualify?
Employers and employees subject to the regulations for drug and alcohol testing include those with a commercial driver’s license and who operate one or more of the following commercial motor vehicles:
Penalties For Non-Compliance
Employers including owner-operators who violate the FMCSA drug and alcohol testing program regulations are subject to severe civil or criminal penalties, including fines of up to $10,000 per occurrence.
Common Reasons Audits are Failed
Summary of 49 CFR Part 382 Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)
Covered employee
A person who operates (i.e., drives) a CMV (Commercial Motor Vehicle) with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 26,001 or more pounds; or is designed to transport 16 or more occupants (including the driver); or is of any size and is used in the transport of hazardous materials that require the vehicle to be placarded.
Types of tests for drugs
Pre-employment, random, reasonable suspicion, post-accident, return- to-duty, and follow-up.
Types of tests for alcohol
Pre-employment (optional), random, reasonable suspicion, post- accident, return-to-duty, and follow-up.
Definition of accident requiring testing
Any accident involving a fatality requires testing. Testing is also required in accidents in which one or more motor vehicles are towed from the scene or in which someone is treated medically away from the scene; and a citation is issued to the CMV driver.
Reasonable-suspicion determination
Pre-duty alcohol use prohibitions
Four (4) hours prior to performance of duty.
Actions for Breath Alcohol Content 0.02 – 0.039
The employee cannot be returned to duty until the next day or the start of the employee’s next regularly scheduled duty period, but not less than 24 hours following the test.
Employee training
Employer must provide educational materials explaining drug and alcohol regulatory requirements and employer’s policies and procedures for meeting regulation requirements. Distribution to each employee of these educational materials and the employer’s policy regarding the use of drugs and alcohol is mandatory. We include employee education materials with every FMCSA consortium registration (except Owner Operators)
Supervisor training
One-hour of training is required on the specific, contemporaneous physical, behavioral, and performance indicators of probable drug use. One-hour of training is also required on the specific, contemporaneous physical, behavioral, and performance indicators of probable alcohol use. Online training available here.
Reportable employee drug and alcohol violations
No requirements to report violations to FMCSA until 2020, when violations are reported to the Clearinghouse.
Reasons for Testing
Drug and alcohol testing also includes random testing and reasonable suspicion testing