Monitoring Commercial Drivers Found Lacking

WASHINGTON - A government report released this week said shortcomings in drug-testing oversight of the commercial driving industry allow some drivers to work without submitting urine samples for testing.

The report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) -- the investigative arm of Congress -- said the federal agency responsible for monitoring the safety of the commercial-driving industry lacks sufficient resources for oversight and enforcement.

The GAO recommended that the secretary of transportation create a national database of drug testing information and move quickly to improve safety audits.

The GAO also said Congress should pass legislation to ban products that individuals can use to substitute or alter urine samples, require states to suspend commercial driver's licenses for individuals who decline to take or fail a drug test and provide the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration with more authority over the drug testing process.

Results of the investigation were announced Wednesday by Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman of the House Transportation Committee, who ordered it in response to a Fox 9 News report that aired in March 2007.

The GAO report said that "although [the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration] and its state partners review thousands of carriers each year, these reviews touch about 2 percent of the industry."

At 10 of 24 urine collection sites, the report said, undercover investigators were not asked to empty their pockets, as sites should require, before proving a urine sample.

In 2006, nearly 5,000 people were killed in crashes involving large trucks while 106,000 were injured, Oberstar said in a prepared opening statement for a committee hearing Wednesday.

"While illegal drug use accounts for only a small percentage of these crashes, it is well-documented how severely drugs such as cocaine, marijuana, and amphetamines impair driving ability," he said. "Operating a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol -- or both -- can increase crash risk anywhere from two- to six-fold."

Minneapolis Star Tribune; May 23, 2008

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