Steve Talkington Consulting, Inc. - Petition for Rulemaking

The clearinghouse (49CFR 382.701-382.727) works great for detecting drivers that have positive drug or alcohol test, or refuses a test, but this letter addresses a shortcoming of the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. The fact that a driver may or may not have completed a follow-up plan after a recorded RTD test is often unknown. Drivers find out quickly that they cannot go to work just anywhere after being released for a positive drug screen . A driver must satisfy the SAP program and get the RTD test completed, but no follow up information makes it to the clearinghouse. For a person that is required to complete a SAP program, the clearinghouse shows that he did or did not complete the RTD, However, the clearinghouse falls short many times showing that the follow-up testing is not complete. How long will it stay that way? Three years? Are there repercussions for not completing the follow-up test? There is always a question of how many follow up tests has the driver taken. Has he taken any? How many employers has he been through since his RTD? If the SAP could enter the follow up plan in the clearinghouse, and the subsequent employers report each follow-up test, there would NEVER be a question where the driver stood in the follow up process. The newest motor carrier could save literally days when trying to obtain the information from the prior employers if the information went into the clearinghouse. Often employers NEVER get the information as to how many follow-up tests a driver has completed. As it stands now, when a driver is hired that requires a RTD, an employer knows where the driver was "working" when they tested positive or failed to test resulting in the SAP intervention. OFTEN times it is while drivers are employed that they slip off to another motor carrier and apply for a job, but fails the Pre-employment drug screen and that companies MRO reports the positive test to the clearinghouse. The driver then goes back to the original employer and drives until he loses his CDL. In the driver's mind, they never worked for that company that they "applied" to and never lists it on an application as a previous employer. The SAP provides the follow up plan to the company where the offender tested positive and often that is the end. Ideally the newest motor carrier checking on this offending driver contacts the former employers and hands over the information. In the real world, the system does not work that way. Many companies do not keep any records of drivers that apply and are not hired. And more often than not, they are the ones that are sent the follow up plan. They do not keep them, or they do and forward them to the new motor carrier; however, the new motor carrier has no idea how many follow-ups the driver has taken. The new motor carrier cannot get the information from the four other motor carriers this driver has worked for between testing positive and applying at the newest motor carrier. The former employers are ignorant of the regulations, or they are afraid of liability and do not forward any follow-ups, or just do not have time to respond to the new motor carrier. The remedy for reporting these companies is more needless paperwork, reporting a company via the web form only to have it go into 404 error when the submit button was pushed. This discourages one from complaining on companies. If the SAP could adopt a process of reporting the follow-up plan directly to the clearinghouse then require each company that hires the driver to report each follow-up test, there would never be a question where the driver stood. Of course there will always be exceptions like companies that are ignorant of the regulations or choose not follow the regulations. We respectfully ask that that in addition to RTD test being placed in the clearinghouse that 1) each subsequent motor carrier enter each follow up test administered as prescribed by the SAP and 2) that the SAP report the follow up plan to the clearinghouse for employers to see.