Good news on alcohol and drug testing results

MTAC receives quarterly reports from the Gregory & Howe/MTAC Alcohol and Drug Testing Program. We have the largest consortium for transportation professionals in the state. I always find the results interesting and encouraging. Our program tests CDL drivers for a variety of substances identified by law. The report for January through March 2015 shows impressive…

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MTAC receives quarterly reports from the Gregory & Howe/MTAC Alcohol and Drug Testing Program. We have the largest consortium for transportation professionals in the state. I always find the results interesting and encouraging.

Our program tests CDL drivers for a variety of substances identified by law. The report for January through March 2015 shows impressive results. We conducted DOT tests on 806 specimens with eight pre-employment positives (of 284), and only one random test positive out of 477. All reasonable cause (1), follow-up (25), post accident (8), and return to duty (1) tests were clean.

This is evidence that the professional truck drivers of this state are responsible and compliant. I don’t understand why people who use drugs even bother applying for truck driver positions. Pre-employment tests, immediately disqualify them, yet they continue to apply for other driving jobs. Don’t ever put a driver into a truck without that important pre-employment drug test.

We can all be proud of the results of our random testing program. Only one positive out of 477 in a three-month period produces a positive rate of 0.0029 %.

September is Truck Driver Appreciation Month. It’s a good time to let drivers know how much we all depend upon them and appreciate them for their professionalism. And, we can all be proud of these results that prove that we don’t have a drug problem in the Connecticut trucking industry.

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