Consider This

National clearinghouse proposed for drug,
alcohol test results

American Trucking Associations President and CEO Bill Graves recently urged Congress to authorize and fund a centralized clearinghouse for positive drug and alcohol testing results of commercial motor vehicle drivers to ensure that motor carrier employers are aware of previous positive test results during the hiring process.
     Speaking at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, Graves said such a clearinghouse will improve the industry’s ability to keep alcohol and drug abusers off the road and improve safety on the nation’s roadways.
     ATA has lobbied for a national clearinghouse of positive test results since the 1990s. In 2004 the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration reported to Congress on the merits of reporting positive test results to states. Currently, five states have instituted a drug and alcohol clearinghouse.
     “State-based reporting efforts are a good first step, but the optimal solution is a national clearinghouse,” said Graves. “State-by-state action will result in a patchwork quilt of reporting requirements, with different commercial driver licensing actions or outcomes for truck drivers, depending upon which state issued their license. A national solution is the optimal approach.”
     The federal government required drug and alcohol testing of commercial truck drivers in 1995. As measured by a percentage of positive test results, drug abuse in the trucking industry is less than half of that found in the general work force. However, the percentage has remained between 2 percent and 2.5 percent of the truck driver population since required testing began, a figure the ATA said is “unacceptable.”
     ATA’s call for a national clearinghouse is part of a trucking industry highway safety initiative that has produced a record low crash rate. Other ATA safety initiatives include a call for universal safety belt laws in the 50 states, greater enforcement of traffic laws against unsafe driving around large trucks and a limit on the maximum speed of large trucks to 68 miles per hour.

Oil futures reach record levels

Diesel fuel prices continued to bounce around this summer after oil futures reached a record $78.77 a barrel in early August. As always, oil industry analysts disagreed about where oil prices would go from here. Some predicted it could go as high as $80 a barrel later in the summer, while others saw oil prices falling into the $60-a-barrel range.
     The average weekly on-highway price of a gallon of diesel stood at $2.898 as of Aug. 6. That’s 1.2 cents more than the previous week, but nearly 16 cents less than it cost on the same date a year ago.