Hutcheson Addresses D&A Clearing house Loophole, Among Other Issues at Orlando Event

In an address to the Truckload Carriers Association in Orlando, Florida, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) chief Robin Hutcheson said the federal Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse is closing a loophole that allows for a driver to have a drug or alcohol violation reported by another employer after a preemployment query, but before the next annual report.

“The Clearinghouse will very soon start notifying employers if there is a change to a driver’s clearinghouse record for up to 12 months following the query,” said Hutcheson. The change took effect in March with employers being notified by email when a driver has new information on their record.

Hutcheson also addressed the debate over the use of hair follicles for testing. Currently, the Department of Health and Human Services has not issued final guidelines for hair testing. Therefore, the FMCSA is not allowed to include those tests in the clearinghouse.

On one side, employers have called for the use of hair testing, while trucking unions and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association have come out against hair testing. Hutcheson did indicate that proposed guidance should be available as soon as this summer.

Hutcheson also spoke on the problem of truck parking, noting that virtually every stakeholder in the industry has talked to her agency about the issue. “This is a critical issue, and we hear you loud and clear,” she said.

FMCSA has issued $81 million in highpriority grants toward various projects which include truck parking. Florida and Tennessee received $37 million for the problem late last year.

Finally, Administrator Hutcheson renewed the FMCSA’s long-term goal of getting to zero fatalities on the nation’s roads. She is focused on creating safer drivers, safer vehicles, and better roadways.

She called on the trucking industry to help with the “root causes” of unsafe driving. Commercial vehicles are involved in accidents that result in almost 5,000 deaths per year, including 800 commercial driver fatalities. “I cannot think of another place in the modern world where we would accept those kinds of numbers of people dying in the workplace,” she said.

To that end, Hutcheson said the agency is focused on training and technology as a path to prevention. In partnership with the National Highway Safety Administration, the FMCSA is working to make automatic emergency braking a requirement on big trucks.

She also indicated that her agency is still looking at speed limiters which would automatically slow down trucks. She said, “These are critical technologies that we believe will save lives and are true to the spirit of the national roadway safety strategy.”