Database Would Allow Trucking Companies to Weed out Drivers with Drug Use History
If all goes well, trucking companies around the country would have access to a single database that will include truck driver drug test results from around the country. This will allow trucking companies to screen out drivers with a history of drug use.
The database is part of a set of recommendations made by the Government Accountability Office. A piece of legislation called the Safe Roads Act has been introduced in the Senate to move towards the establishment of the database. The database will contain drug test results from commercial truck drivers from around the country, and trucking companies, medical officers and others will be required to enter their records into the database. The database will be updated frequently, providing vital information that will allow a trucking company to screen a truck driver for drug use before he is hired. Concerns about privacy have also been addressed in the Safe Roads Act.
Drug use is widespread in the trucking industry. Some of the most frequently used drugs in the industry include methamphetamines that are often used by truck drivers to stay awake for long periods of time. Indiana trucking accident attorneys have always felt that current federal trucking safety rules don't attack the problem of drug use by commercial truck drivers with the seriousness it deserves.
The creation of a single database containing records of drug test results from drivers that will be accessible to trucking companies and others from around the country, could solve this problem. Currently, there are too many drivers who conceal their past drug use history. The database would take care of this issue.
