FMCSA Proposal for Hair Testing Guidelines to be Published

Hair follicle testing for drug use has been a hot button issue in the trucking industry for a few years now with employers generally in favor and drivers generally against. A long-awaited proposal setting mandatory guidelines from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is set for public comment in the summer, according to FMCSA Administrator Robin Hutcheson.

“We know that hair testing as part of drug testing is a big issue for you,” Hutcheson told the Truckload Carriers Association annual meeting in March. “And you know that DOT [U.S. Department of Transportation] must follow HHS [Health and Human Services] mandatory guidelines for this. We are being proactive as much as we can on this issue. I met directly with HHS leadership and staff and can report back today that revised proposed guidance will be available for public viewing by summer of this year.”

An HHS proposed guideline released in 2020 was opposed by both sides of the issue. Trucking companies tend to be in favor of hair testing because it supposedly provides the most accurate information as to drug use by a driver. On the other hand, drivers have balked at such testing, citing civil rights. In some cases, such as with the Sikh driver population, they believe it is an infringement on their religious rights as well.

Also, during her speech to the annual meeting, Hutcheson highlighted the FMCSA’s ongoing battle to make the nation’s roads safer. She cited the average of 5,000 crashes involving commercial trucks that occur each year, with drivers dying at an alarming rate in such crashes.

Potential solutions to the problem

include improved training, the use of technology such as emergency braking and the installation of speed limiters on big trucks.

On another issue, Hutcheson said progress was being made with the FMCSA’s safety management system, which is being overhauled in the methodology the government uses to rank carrier safety. She encouraged carriers to see the FMCSA’s website for further details on the system.

“Go in and test your score in the old system, and the new system, and comment on it,” she said. “The main reason we’re proposing these updates is to promote fairness to ensure greater consistency and results, and by holding similar carriers to the same standards.” Comments on the system by stakeholders can be provided through May 16.