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62
CHAPTER SEVEN
MOTOR CARRIER POLICIES ON DRIVER USE OF CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES
INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGY Carrier Survey on Chemical Substance Use
among Drivers
A structured interview questionnaire for use with CMV stake-
holders (e.g., predominately truck carrier fleet managers, 1. What sector of the trucking industry do you primarily
safety advocates, and other company officials) was designed operate in? (Check all that apply.)
to elicit key information about current commercial motor
Sector Total
carrier company applications, policies, and programs involv-
ing the use, or restriction of use, of chemical substances by For-Hire 16
commercial drivers. The survey questionnaire asked specific Private 7
questions about a carrier's knowledge base regarding various Truckload 7
chemical substances sometimes ingested by their drivers. It Less-than-Truckload 5
Specialized 2
also asked them about current company policies regarding Other 3
driver use of stimulants, hypnotics, and nutritional supple-
ments. The questions on the survey were open-ended enough Open-Ended Responses: Total
to gather information about company officials' experiences Other
with current approaches and procedures, and safety policies Charter Bus 1
in place, to identify problems and to elicit proposed solutions Medical and Wellness Clinics 1
regarding the use of chemical substances in the commercial Training 1
transportation industries. Survey questions were specifically
designed to cover the scope and objectives outlined for the 2. How many drivers does your company employ
purpose and intent of this synthesis study. (by type)?
Driver Type Total
The ATRI distributed the survey questionnaire to motor
carrier company officials through: (1) the American Trucking Company Drivers 24,490
Associations (ATA) Safety and Loss Prevention Management Leased/OwnerOperators 4,225
Council; (2) to a health and wellness working group within
the council; and (3) to several wellness clinics located at 3. Do you have company policies or guidance (written
travel centers that target over-the-road drivers. Respondents or verbal) for drivers on drugs, medications, or other
were solicited by e-mail, accompanied by an Internet URL link chemical substance use?
on the ATRI's website, where the respondents could access Company Policies or Guidance Total
the online version of the Chemical Effects Survey.
Yes 29
No 2
QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY RESULTS
If you answered yes to Question 3, please answer
The participants consisted of safety and human resource Question 4 below. If no, please proceed to Question 5.
personnel within the trucking industry, including motor
carriers and allied professionals (e.g., motorcoach and health 4. For which of the following chemical substances
and wellness clinics). Thirty-one company responses were does your company provide drivers with policies or
collected. These companies employed a range of from a min- guidance? (Check all that apply.)
imum of 10, to a maximum of 6,200 drivers, with an average
of more than 800 drivers (816) per company. Most respondents Type of Policy or Guidance Total
were representatives of truck carrier firms. The survey netted
responses from one commercial driver training company and Prescription Medications 24
Over-the-Counter Medications 12
from one charter-bus company. Legal Stimulants 6
Sleep Aids 8
The specific questions posed in the survey are depicted in Nutritional Supplements 3
the context of the presentation of the results (here) along with Alcohol 24
summary statistics for the surveys. Illegal Drugs 23
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63
Open Ended: If yes, please briefly describe your Health and Well-
Type of Policy or
Guidance Total
ness efforts here:
Prescription Advise safety of all prescription Open-Ended Responses
Medications meds
Training materials developed in-house and through
As a CDL driver if this medica-
Novartis
tion could cause a problem
Just brought the program in with a fund that is awarded
with your driving do not
by the Chamber of Commerce in our business area.
use if it causes you to test
It covers checks for cholesterol, triglycerides, etc.
positive; you could be
Blood pressure, diabetes. Associated counseling for
terminated.
any problems discovered.
Prohibited as they cause adverse
We perform basic awareness. Evaluating options for
effects
starting a wellness program.
Must report any prescribed drug
Company provides guidance regarding good nutrition
usage
to employees and ongoing awareness regarding health
Over-the-Counter Guidance on effects, guide-
to the employee.
(OTC) Medications lines for use when off duty
Health fairs, driver wellness training with practical
first to evaluate effects
discussion over the ideas, drivers trained in Drug
before performing safety- and Alcohol use.
sensitive functions, fact sheets We provide an onsite workout facility (weight machines,
on common OTC meds treadmills, free weights). We mail out a monthly health
provided newsletter to drivers' homes.
As a CDL driver if this We are developing a program.
medication could cause a Presentation on exercising and healthy eating. Weight
problem with your driving, watchers program.
do not use, if it causes you Health care staff comes in once a year to review additional
to test positive you could be options and to complete minor health care diagnostic
terminated. work.
Prohibited if they cause adverse Company healthcare.
affect Our program is just starting, so initially we address diet
Legal Stimulants Discourage use by providing and smoking.
education on health effects Primarily promoting healthy life style through messages
and through wellness fatigue and handouts. Nondriver employees have sack lunch
education health meetings.
Sleep Aids Awareness communication Roadside Medical (RSM) Driver Wellness Program
Prohibited if they cause adverse is designed specifically for the professional driver
effects based on testing from the current state of driver
Nutritional No responses received health. RSM is also in the process of creating a
Supplements line for its employee's monthly wellness program;
Alcohol Firm written policy Introducing the Roadside Medical Driver Wellness
Assistance if employee steps Program . . . the most innovative program designed
forward to travel with you! Roadside Medical's Driver
Illegal Drugs Firm written policy Wellness Program provides simple and easy-to-follow
Zero tolerance if busted, tools and materials to get us on the road to better
assistance if employee health (and keep us there!). Key features include:
comes forward unlimited one-on-one telephone health coaching,
a wellness kit, a free 30-day health check, exercise
and nutrition guides, and more.
5. Do you have an employee Health and Wellness New driver 30-day meal supplements kits, designed for
program? the professional truck driver.
Currently they fall under the corporate Wellness
Health and Wellness Program Total Program. We are tailoring this program to be driver-
specific, and keeping them under the corporate program.
Yes 19 Annual screenings, preventative testing paid 100%
No 12 through insurance
6. Does the Health and Wellness program include 7. If chemical substances are included in your Health and
drivers? Wellness program, please elaborate:
Health and Wellness Program Open-Ended Responses
Including Drivers Total
We offer Employee Assistance Program for all staff
Yes 19 Health coaching
No 9 We follow the DOT regulations for hazmat endorsed
No Response 3 drivers
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64
8. How are company policies regarding driver substance 10. Do you have adequate access to chemical substance
communicated? (Check all that apply.) resources? If yes, what information sources did you
find useful?
Communication Method Total
Adequate Access to Chemical
Health and Wellness Program 13 Substance Resources Total
Written Company Policies 31
Safety Meetings and Training 29 Yes 22
Reminders in Employee Newsletters 14 No 9
Other Means 2
Open-Ended Responses
9. What issues or problems regarding commercial driver Internet and Internet updates; online information
chemical use need to be addressed or resolved in our if needed (5 responses)
trucking community? (Please identify and elaborate.) Seminars sponsored by main health facility we
contract with to do our DOT physicals and
Open-Ended Responses drug tests.
Employee awareness through J. J. Keller
Education on OTC and prescription medications and their Through our Medical Review Provider
effects. National Safety Council
There needs to a better way to control what drivers are Close relationship with our clinics, Employee Assistance
doing once they are out on the road. Program line
As far as being mandatory, there should be no more J. J. Keller Health care programs, Employee Assistance
regulations required of the companies. All illegal drugs, Program network
abuse of legal drugs, and alcohol are already covered Our Third Party Administrator (TPA) for health
in our DOT Drug and Alcohol policies. insurance, etc.
Sleep Coaching and counseling
Designer drugs Consolidated Drug and Alcohol Compliance, Inc.,
None we have Kenner, LA
Drug database for carriers to reference We use DOT regulation notices and have a medical
Expand to additional drugs and testing processes staff that keeps our organization informed
Most of our problems with drugs or alcohol are drinking and Tapes, written programs, and online tools
driving in the driver's personal vehicle (DUI) resulting in
loss of CDL. If no, on what topics would you like more infor-
Need to reduce the number of drivers that need to be
randomly tested each year. mation?
Specific guidelines of what is acceptable and what is not.
The drug testing standard needs to move to hair testing. Open-Ended Responses
Providing health/wellness health coaching and counseling.
Once you start to help drivers achieve results and their Information on over-the-counter meds and their effects
minds become clearer, they need support in recognizing Industry best practices
dependencies and how to deal with them LONG-TERM! Federal database
Prescription drugs and legal stimulants Specific information for generic drug names
Accurate method to determine a driver's alcohol and drug Easy reference to prescribed and over-the-counter
history prior to hiring. drugs that are restricted or problematic for driver
Over-the-counter aids should have warning labels when alertness
taken with prescription medications. Providers of testing nationwide
Need to make sure all companies are in compliance.
We need a national database showing when and where
drivers tested positive. This database should be
accessible to all trucking companies so they know a
driver's prior history before hiring him or her.
