§382.105 Testing procedures.

Question 1: What does a Breath Alcohol Technician (BAT) do when a test involves an independent, self-employed owner-operator with a confirmed alcohol concentration of 0.02 or greater, to notify a company representative as required by §40.65(i)?

Guidance: The independent, self-employed owner-operator will be notified by the BAT immediately and the owner-operator’s certification in Step 4 notes that the self-employed owner-operator has been notified. No further notification is necessary. The Breath Alcohol Technician (BAT) will provide copies1 and 2 to the self-employed owner-operator directly.

Question 2: A driver does not have a photo identification card. Must an employer representative identify the driver in the pres ence of the Breath Alcohol Technician (BAT)/urine specimen collector or may the employer representative identify the driver via a telephone conversation?

Guidance: Those subject to part 382 are subject first, generally, to part 383. Part 383 requires all States, with an exception in Alaska for a very small group of individuals, to provide a CDL = Commercial Driver's License document to the individual that includes, among other things: the full name, signature, and mailing address of the person to whom such license is issued; physical and other information to identify and describe the person including date of birth (month, day, and year), sex, and height; and, a color photograph of the person. Except in these rare Alaskan instances, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) fully expects most employer’s to require the driver to present the CDL document to the Breath Alcohol Technician (BAT) or urine collector.

A driver subject to alcohol and drug testing should be able to provide the Commercial Driver's License (CDL) document. In those rare instances that the CDL or other form of photo identification is not produced for verification, an employer representative must be contacted and must provide identification. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) will allow employer representatives to identify drivers in any way that the employer believes will positively identify the driver.

Question 3: Will foreign drug testing laboratories need to be certified by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)? Will they need to be certified by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)?

Guidance: The NIDA, an agency of the DHHS, no longer administers the workplace drug testing laboratory certification program. This program is now administered by the DHHS’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. All motor carriers are required to use DHHS-certified laboratories for analysis of alcohol and controlled substances tests as neither Mexico nor Canada has an equivalent laboratory certification program.

Question 4: Particularly in light of the coverage of Canadian and Mexican employees, how should Medical Review Officer (MRO)s deal, in the verification process, with claims of the use of foreign prescriptions or over-the-counter medication?

Guidance: Possession or use of controlled substances are prohibited when operating a Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) under the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) regulations regardless of the source of the substance. A limited exception exists for a substance’s use in accordance with instructions provided by a licensed medical practitioner who knows that the individual is a CMV driver who operates CMVs in a safety-sensitive job and has provided instructions to the CMV driver that the use of the substance will not affect the CMV driver’s ability to safely operate a CMV (see §§382.213, 391.41(b)(12), and 392.4(c)). Individuals entering the United States must properly declare controlled substances with the U.S. Customs Service. 21 CFR 1311.27

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) expects Medical Review Officer (MRO)s to properly investigate the facts concerning a Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) driver’s claim that a positive controlled substance test result was caused by a prescription written by a knowledgeable, licensed medical practitioner or the use of an over-the-counter substance that was obtained in a foreign country without a prescription. This investigation should be documented in the MRO’s files.

If the Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) driver lawfully obtained a substance in a foreign country without a prescription which is a controlled substance in the United States, the Medical Review Officer (MRO)s must also investigate whether a knowledgeable, licensed medical practitioner provided instructions to the CMV driver that the use of the ‘‘over-the-counter’’ substance would not affect the driver’s ability to safely operate a CMV.

Potential violations of §392.4 must be investigated by the law enforcement officer at the time possession or use is discovered to determine whether the exception applies.