Owner-Operator’s First Alcohol and Drug Clearinghouse Query Deadline Approaching The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse rule requires employers to monitor employees’ drug and alcohol violations. Employers must have drug and alcohol violation queries pulled from the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse by Jan. 6, 2021. The rule applies to employers and commercial driver’s license (CDL) drivers. The FMCSA considers owner-operators as both employers and employees, so they must conduct queries on themselves as well. The FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse is an online database that allows employers to conduct queries on prospective and current CDL drivers. Queries are electronic checks used to determine whether CDL drivers are prohibited from performing safety-sensitive functions due to unresolved drug and alcohol program violations. Clearinghouse Requirements According to the FMCSA Clearinghouse fact sheet, employers must “report drug and alcohol violations and check that no current or prospective employee is prohibited from performing safety-sensitive functions, such as operating a CMV, due to a drug and alcohol program violation for which a driver has not successfully completed a Return-To-Duty (RTD) process.” In turn, CDL drivers must “review their own records, provide consent to employers to access their records under the drug and … Continue reading

The Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) restricts the use of all hand-held mobile devices by drivers of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs). Under FMCSA rules, CMV drivers may not hold a mobile device to make a call, dial a mobile device by pressing more than a single button or reach for a mobile device in a way that puts the driver in an unsafe position. CMV drivers who use a mobile phone while driving can only use a hands-free phone located in close proximity. The FMCSA’S restrictions are based on research showing that the odds of being involved in a safety-critical event, such as a crash, near-crash or unintentional lane deviation, are six times greater for CMV drivers who engage in dialing a mobile phone while driving than for those who do not. Dialing drivers took their eyes off the forward roadway for an average of 3.8 seconds. At 55 mph (or 80.7 feet per second), this equates to a driver traveling 306 feet, the approximate length of a football field, without looking at the roadway. What is the definition of using a mobile telephone? The use of a hand-held mobile telephone means: Using at least one hand … Continue reading Hand-held Device Restrictions for CMV Drivers

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