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FMCSA Creates National Drug Clearinghouse

1 min read

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will create a national clearinghouse for drivers who have violations of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s testing program.

The clearinghouse requires employers, medical officers, substance abuse professionals and other administrators to notify the program when a holder of a commercial driver’s license violates the federal drug and alcohol regulations. The clearinghouse will collect information such as positive drug or alcohol test results and traffic violations involving impaired driving.

The FMCSA also said employers would be required to check with the clearinghouse for violations before allowing employees on the road, and employers will have to annually check current employees’ records with the clearinghouse.

The clearinghouse begins in January with a compliance deadline of January 2020.

“State databases, like the one in Arkansas, were a good step in making highways safer,” said Shannon Newton, the president of the Arkansas Trucking Association. “But a national database was always the end goal. It is vital to closing loopholes and keeping alcohol and drug abusers off the road in Arkansas, and across America.”

The American Trucking Associations also praised the announcement.

“ATA and its members are committed to safety,” said Bill Sullivan, executive vice president of advocacy for the national advocacy group. “Today’s announcement provides the trucking industry with a powerful tool to keep drivers who have tested positive for drugs or alcohol out from behind the wheel of our trucks.”

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