The DOT Doctor can advise you and help you set up a proper Drug and Alcohol training program. Please contact The DOT Doctor for more information on this service. It is available a la carte but recommend as part of a full service package.
Don’t let your company become the next victim.Be sure your drivers are drug and alcohol tested BEFORE putting them behind the wheel.Check their backgrounds, be sure to conduct pre-employment, post-incident, reasonable suspicion and random testing in according with FMCSA regulations.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s alcohol and drug testing rules apply to every person and to all employers of such persons who operate a commercial motor vehicle in commerce in any state, and is subject to: (1) the commercial driver’s license requirements of 49 CFR Part 383; (2) the Licencia Federal de Conductor (Mexico) requirements; or (3) the commercial driver’s license requirements of the Canadian National Safety Code.
Jury awards victim of Swift driver’s crash $23.5 million
– By Charlie Morasch, staff writer
A federal jury in Kansas recently awarded one trucker’s family more than $20 million for a 2006 accident caused by a Swift driver who tested positive forbeing under the influence of drugs. Terry and Donna Frederick of Overland Park, KS, sued Swift in relation to a March 16, 2006, crash that involved a Yellow Freight truck that Terry Frederick was riding in and a Swift truck driven by Robyn Getchel.
The wreck occurred about 1:30 a.m. that day on U.S. 54 near Tucumcari, NM. The collision killed Yellow Freight driver Dennis Bottorff and injured Terry Frederick’s spine. The Fredericks argued that Getchel recklessly turned into a rest area north of U.S. 54 and failed to maintain proper control of the truck, leading to the crash between the two trucks.
Getchel once tested positive for being under the influence of methamphetamine while driving for Swift.
According to the Wichita Eagle, the largest verdict ever against Swift occurred in December 2007, when an Arizona jury awarded $36.5 million after one of the carrier’s trucks crashed into and killed another driver.
This is not just a US problem.The situation is global.
Listen to the audio discussing the growing problem of workplace drug use in the UK.
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