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After Six Years, the Department of Transportation Has Failed to Implement Life Saving Changes

After Six Years, the Department of Transportation Has Failed to Implement Life Saving Changes

Spring break is the perfect time for a getaway. After such a trying year, it feels good to pack up the family and head out of town, even for a long weekend. Long stretches of freeway make the drive a little more relaxing. As you share the road with a few large semi-trucks, it doesn’t occur to you that you and your family may be sharing the freeway with chronic drug users. After all, commercial truck drivers are drug tested, right?

The truth is, truck drivers are only given urine tests, which do not show prolonged drug use. While Congress approved more effective testing methods six years ago, the Department of Transportation has ignored the call to action, putting you and your family at risk.

Colucci, Colucci & Marcus, P.C. have extensive experience in semi-truck accidents. Whenever an impaired driver operates 80,000-pounds of steel, catastrophic injuries ensue. If you or someone you love has been injured by the careless and selfish acts of an impaired truck driver, please call our truck accident attorneys in Boston, Massachusetts today. You and your family have suffered enough. Let our highly sought team secure the compensation you deserve. Call 617-917-3917 today.

Congressional Approval for Hair Follicle Testing Overlooked by the Department of Transportation

In Chattanooga, Tennessee, a horrific scene unfolded on June 15, 2015, spurring Congress to pass the Fast Act 2015. Traffic had slowed due to road construction. A truck driver with methamphetamines in his system failed to notice and never slowed down, hitting the rear of a Toyota Prius and continuing forward through seven other vehicles. After the dust settled, one vehicle was completely engulfed in flames, six people were dead, and four were injured.

The truck driver had a history of drug abuse. However, he passed his urine test. When the National Traffic Safety Board investigated, a hair test showed he was a habitual drug user. Had the Department of Transportation, DOT, used hair follicle testing in their random drug tests, they could have prevented the collision.

As part of the Fast Act 2015, the DOT was able to switch to hair follicle testing. After six years, it has still not been implemented. Why?

The Journal of Transportation Management may shed some light. According to a peer-reviewed research study, approximately 275,000 truck drivers would fail a hair test. That’s 275,000 drug users operating 80,000-pound semi-trucks on roads you drive every day. How safe are you if the DOT continues to ignore this crucial change?

11 Trucking Companies Push the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to Act on Hair Follicle Testing

Urine testing is not effective at keeping drug abusers from behind the wheel. Now, 11 large-fleet trucking companies have started a petition for federal regulators to implement hair follicle testing, which has been ignored for an astounding six years. FMCSA also dismissed the petition within the 60-day time frame. While the trucking companies tried to compel the federal agency to publish the document, it failed in the US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. The court denied the group’s petition because some trucking companies had already brought a similar petition in 2017. The court decided to treat both petitions as one entity.

Why should this matter to you?

It is easy for habitual drug users to pass urine tests. For example;

  • Cocaine only shows in the system for up to 3 days in a urine test
  • Meth for up to 1 week
  • Adderall lasts 72 hours
  • Alcohol 48 hours

Hair testing can catch drugs and alcohol for up to 90 days, making it far more effective at saving lives. How do you feel driving on the roads knowing that the DOT and the FMCSA allow dangerously impaired drivers to share your roads?

Colucci, Colucci & Marcus, PC. Are Here for You

If you or someone you love has suffered an injury due to an impaired truck driver’s negligent acts, call our truck accident lawyers in Boston, Massachusetts today. The aggressive attorneys at Colucci, Colucci & Marcus, P.C. will seek the justice you deserve when the federal agencies that are meant to keep you safe fail. Don’t hesitate. Contact us for a free consultation of your case by clicking here or by calling 617-917-3917.