Drugs and Truck Driving: Marijuana Accounts for Half of Trucker Positive Drug Tests in Clearinghouse Report
On June 10, 2020, the Office of Enforcement and Compliance for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (“FMCSA”) published its first five (5) page report on findings from its Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. The report details data compiled by the FMCSA Clearinghouse between January 1 and June 1 of this year.
Goal of Clearinghouse: Less Fatal Truck Crashes Caused by Impaired Drivers
In October 2019, FMCSA debuted its Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse and allowed members of the trucking industry to register and create individual accounts in the database. Participation in the Clearinghouse became mandatory on January 6, 2020.
Those that must register include:
- CDL Drivers (truck drivers with commercial driver’s license);
- Employers (companies who own or operate commercial vehicles as a part of their business and hire truckers to drive them);
- Owner-Operators (truck drivers who own and operate their own rigs);
- C/TPAs (consortia / third party administrators);
- DLAs (state drivers’ licensing agencies);
- MROs (medical review officers); and
- SAPs (substance abuse professionals).
For details on the FMCSA Clearinghouse, read our earlier discussions in “Fighting Against Fatal Truck Accidents and Deadly Truck Crashes: FMCSA Clearinghouse Registration Begins” and “FMCSA Intensifies Efforts to Stop Drugged Driving by Truckers: Random Drug Testing of Commercial Truck Drivers Jumps to 50% in 2020.”
What is the Clearinghouse?
The FMCSA Clearinghouse is described by the agency as “a secure online database that gives employers, the FMCSA, State Driver Licensing Agencies (SDLAs), and State law enforcement personnel real-time information about commercial driver’s license (CDL) and commercial learner’s permit (CLP) holders’ drug and alcohol program violations.”
Its goal is highway safety. Again, from FMCSA: “[t]he Clearinghouse provides FMCSA and employers the necessary tools to identify drivers who are prohibited from operating a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) based on U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) drug and alcohol program violations, and ensure that such drivers receive the required evaluation and treatment before operating a CMV on public roads.”
Drivers and Employers Must Participate
The Clearinghouse exists to identify truckers (and bus drivers) who are operating commercial motor vehicles while impaired by drugs or alcohol, in violation of federal safety regulations. It also works to force employers to monitor drivers for drug and alcohol use by requiring them to check with the Clearinghouse database before allowing the driver on the road. Employers are also required to do an annual check of all their drivers against the database files for drug or alcohol violations.
June 2020 Findings: Marijuana Accounts for Half of Drug Violations
The newly-released FMCSA Clearinghouse Report found that 20,678 drug violations were reported in the first six months of this year, as well as 489 alcohol violations (of the federal drug and alcohol program). (Report, page 3.)
Drug test violations made up 80% of the reported violations. Of those drug test violations, the top three identified substances were (Report, page 4):
- Marijuana, 10,388;
- Cocaine, 3192; and
- Methamphetamine, 2184.
Marijuana accounted for 50.3% of all drug test violations reported in January – June 2020 to the FMCSA Clearinghouse.
Great Danger of an Impaired Truck Driver in Our Crossroads of America
Here in our part of the country, more commercial trucks are driven along the roads of Indiana and Illinois than other states, as we are located in a key national transportation hub nicknamed the “Crossroads of America.” Both states depend upon this high volume of commercial truck traffic: having lots of semi-trucks, 18-wheelers, tractor-trailers, and big rigs rumbling through our communities is considered vital to our local economies.
Of course, the greater the volume of commercial truck traffic in Illinois and Indiana means a correspondingly greater risk of a fatal truck crash for both the truck driver and those sharing the roads with them. See:
- Fatal Truck Driver Crashes: Record-Breaking Trucker Fatalities According to New Studies;
- Truck Crashes: Making the Roads of Indiana and Illinois Safer from Fatal Truck Accidents.
This increased risk of a deadly truck accident exists in the best of conditions, simply because of the greater number of large commercial motor vehicles on our roadways. When the added factor of drivers operating their rigs while impaired by drugs like marijuana, cocaine, or meth, the risk of a fatal truck crash skyrockets for everyone on the roads of Indiana and Illinois.
Legalization of Marijuana and Impaired Driving by Truck Drivers
One reason for marijuana to rank first in the type of drugs reported by the FMCSA Clearinghouse may be due to its legalization in many states, to varying degrees (recreational; medical). Unlike cocaine and meth, marijuana may be found and purchased legally by the commercial truck driver in many states.
As of January 2020, for instance, it is possible to purchase recreational marijuana in Illinois without any need to show a medical need or doctor’s prescription. For details, read: Recreational Marijuana is Legal in Illinois: The Rising Danger of a Drugged Driving Crash.
The new Clearinghouse Report appears to confirm our earlier warnings that commercial truck drivers may fall prey to the temptation to drive after using marijuana, increasing the risk of a fatal crash. See, Marijuana Semi-Truck Crashes: Pot, Cannabis Products, and Commercial Truck Drivers.
Critical Issue: Testing for Drug Impairment after a Serious or Deadly Crash
For victims of a serious or deadly crash involving a commercial motor vehicle, it will be imperative to establish if impaired driving caused or contributed to the accident. This may not be easy, and expert analysis may be required.
Testing for marijuana impairment is more complex than testing for blood alcohol content (BAC) levels in a DUI (driving under the influence) crash.
For drivers at the scene of the accident, law enforcement may not be able to confirm a driver who is high from marijuana as ably as the officer can confirm a driver impaired by alcohol, where things like field sobriety tests can be administered. Technologies for reliable testing for marijuana impairment are still being developed.
Moreover, the Governors’ Highway Safety Association has found it to be easier to determine drivers who have been driving under the influence of drugs when they die in the crash than those who survive their injuries. This is because the fatally-injured drivers are tested for drugs more frequently than surviving drivers. See, Drug-Impaired Driving: A Guide for States (GHSA 2018).
Seeking Justice for Victims of a Fatal Truck Crash in Illinois or Indiana
The new Clearinghouse Report warns us all of the rising risk of permanent bodily injury or death in a trucking accident here in Indiana or Illinois. It reveals that the risk of a driver operating his or her rig while impaired by marijuana or other drugs is a genuine possibility here.
Couple this with the size and weight of large commercial vehicles as compared to other vehicles on the roads; add the risks of speeding, distractions, weather conditions, and the simple fact that more semi-trucks are on our roads than in other states, and the chance of one or more fatalities in a truck crash here is terrifyingly high.
Of course, the state laws of Illinois and Indiana provide avenues for justice to those who are seriously injured or killed in a commercial truck crash. Truck drivers as well as the drivers and occupants of other motor vehicles involved in the truck accident may have legal recourse.
The information gathered in the new Clearinghouse Report is important both to warn against these deadly types of accidents as well as to provide data to assist victims in proving up their injury claims in the aftermath of a deadly crash. Truck crashes can be some of the most horrific and deadly types of motor vehicle accidents and investigation into their causes may be complicated and intricate. Helping victims, including truck drivers, assert claims against those who have legal liability for these tragedies is important. Please be careful out there!
