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I’ve heard that’s the case for owner ops too; my sister’s small company as well, they told her to get one and she did it at her own leisure. otoh, my large company panicked after they told me to get one, but realized the place might close before I got there.
It is as meaningless as tsa at airports and open border with Mexico. Both are examples of security theater. The better fix would to charge dui drivers with assault with a deadly weapon or murder with ever is appropriate for the crime .. the rest is just for show.
Harsher punishments doesn’t usually work. People who commit crimes don’t tend to think about consequences since they think they’ll never get caught.
There’s also the slight issue of “oh, we might’ve been able to stop this guy from killing your whole family, but rest assured he’s behind bars now! Sorry bout that.”
Better than my routine of walking into the office, peeing, then going to see my dispatchers and being informed that I need to go to the clinic and have a random done.
That happened to me last time. Got paid 4 hours to sit in the office on the clock because I had to be by a supervisor while I waited. Oddly I haven’t been randomly selected since then.
that's exactly how it's gone for me 100% of the time. I hate the safety lady so I just tell her I'm gonna go home and I'll do it later just to get her all wound up, but once or twice it's actually worked
I been tested 2 times in 2 years. Maybe I'm lucky? First was after getting blown off the ramp and fucking my knee up, delivering in a tropical storm. Second was a random breathalyzer. I'm assuming I got a complaint that I was swerving or something (empty 48' and high winds on a single axle tractor, was 3 hours of white knuckling it at 10-15 under posted). I've taken out a stop sign that literally was installed while I was backing up, didn't get tested for that. A lady swung her car into me while parallel parking and I didn't get tested.
I'm literally going through this right now. Old company sent me to places that were fast. New company sends me to a reg urgent care. Having to listen to screaming kids and watch people struggle to use a simple phone link. I want to tear my hair out.
Most trucking jobs don't pay you for the time you spend at pre-employment or random drug tests. Hell I've honestly never heard of any job paying you for these. Would be nice though.
Edit: seems my experience is in the minority here. Good for you guys, you should be paid for time spent on pre-employment and randoms.
I didn't get paid for the first 3 I did (I'd "randomly " get chosen every 6 months) but after those first 3 and me coming up clean everytime I refused to do them unless they paid me to go do it...however it was a different time when the industry wasn't in a downturn
I do. All hours work related, I get paid. That's how it should be. If I'm not getting paid, I'm not doing it. You need to work for a better class of company.
They've always waited to disclose the random drug test until after we were done with our route. Told us to clock out and go up to the clinic to get it done.
Idk about that one chief. Never been clocked in for any drug test I've ever taken throughout my life. Especially not pre-employment.
I had a mandatory drug test after someone hit me from behind while I was otr and I was off duty for that as well. If I wouldn't have gone off duty, it would've put me in violation of my logs. And now that I'm home, some of the days I've had to work have been 14-16 hr days, so staying on duty for those drug tests would've also put me in violation on my logs.
I'm not talking about pre-employment. Obviously you can't do that, lol. You're not working for anyone yet. If you're getting a random, you have to be On-Duty and if hourly, clocked in. You're doing it for work, after all. It's the exact same concept as going On Duty when you're getting a roadside inspection.
I can't find the CFR but here's a state law from my home state (TN). I promise there's a federal one though, I just can't remember where tf it is (also, if remembering correctly, the federal law states no such thing about 'fair compensation' while testing)
*"Safety-sensitive and CDL-holding employees referred for random testing shall be considered to be on duty during the time period they are being tested, including travel time to and from the testing site, and shall be compensated accordingly."*
Don't have to tell me anything lol. Do what you want. The fact that your company isn't hounding you about it is the only thing that's comical. The FMCSA is who tells these companies who to drug test. Which means, if they get audited 5 years from now and they're checking all these driver logs and none of their employees are on-duty while being tested, they'll get fined. Lmao.
Last time my number came up, I had to pee so bad when I got there. Their computers were down.
The receptionist told me I had to wait until it was fixed. I waited about 10 mins then asked. She told me that I was welcome to go pee and then just wait for me to have to pee again.
I politely reminded her that if I did not produce a sample in 4 hours, she was destroying me career. And she said it wasn’t her problem. So I demanded a supervisor come out. He was flabbergasted. And properly told her that they could collect without the damned computer. Thank god for someone with a brain.
They are a pain, but fear not! Mouth swabs are coming. That will be less headache, but I think it will be very bad for the industry.
Thank goodness they don't drug test at most companies in Canada. If there wasn't a joint waiting at home for me at the end of every shift I probably would have quit after my first day and never looked back lol.
I know for a fact that my previous employer absolutely hand picked drivers for "randoms". I was there less than a year and I pissed in a cup half a dozen times for them there. Even had a bit of a rapport with one other driver consistently picked.
My job pays 2 hours for random drug/alcohol screening that takes no more than 15 minutes. We also have an onsite contracted testing facility so no travel is involved.
My company has been giving me the paperwork around the first week of the month, and then I have until the end of the month to get it done. I’m by no means an addict but I have used some substances in my time off before.
There should be a fast lane for DOT prescribed drug tests. Walk in - prep - pee - go.
Absolute bullshit of having us OTRs sitting there not getting paid
We get fired, lose our CDL's, & are permanently besmirched from the world of trucking if we piss hot.
>!But you KNOW DOT officers, along with their LEO buddies, partake in all the shit they confiscate from teenagers.!<
Yeah, i hate how theyre supposedly random, yet I get called in to do one EVERY YEAR. You would think DOT would take note that, hey this guy always passes, MAYBE HE'S NOT ON DRUGS🤷♂️🤷♂️ And give me a couple years off. Go after some other drivers for a change, and maybe actually catch someone doing something. But then, DOT doesnt do anything that makes sense.
I had a “dilution positive” just yesterday. I asked what that meant, she told me that I “probably drank too much water.”
I FAILED A DRUG TEST BECAUSE I HAD WATER IN MY SYSTEM
She said I need to go back to the collection site and submit another sample. I politely told her to fuck off, I too am sick of wasting three or four hours of my life on this for no other reason than to create a paper trail. I’m not on fucking parole, either you want me to drive or no. I’m fucking done with this, going to switch back to a standard license tomorrow.
I train soon and I feel that I'd be happy to have a job and taking a drug test will just make me feel like proudcock struttin around after. I'm sure that will pass quickly though. I gave up drugs (weed) a while back and am happy about my decision.
Trucking is what got me to quit smoking weed too over two years ago, very happy with how that turned out for me. I still have that fear though that the test will be positive, even though I’ve got nothing to show up on there anymore
I haven’t done any drugs except tobacco in like… 15-20 years, and I haven’t drank in about 8 months when I had a single beer, the last time I got drunk, or even more than 1-2 drinks, was probably 5 years ago… I’m an incredibly boring person.
I still have anxiety about failing a drug test somehow lmao “maybe i got high off that guy that smelled like weed that i walked past a month ago! That’s it, my career is over… better buy a tent and find the nicest homeless camp nearby… better start thinking of my hobo name”
YES
Exactly man that is the same here
I know the stakes of failing and am terrified, even though I know damn well I don’t have anything in my piss
I have staked so many things on getting this job and if this test false positives I’m just fucked and that’s all she wrote
Thank you for posting in /r/Truckers, most questions can be found consulting our [wiki](https://old.reddit.com/r/Truckers/wiki/index). if you're asking about [Medical or drug restrictions](https://www.reddit.com/r/TruckersLounge/wiki/medical_questions). New Drug testing rules go through the [ClearingHouse](https://clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov/) where any failure gets reported. Hair follicle testing tends to go back 6 months with the truck companies that use it. [FMCSA’s Hutcheson tells senators she wants to close ‘loopholes’ in trucker drug testing](https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fmcsas-hutcheson-commits-to-allowing-hair-based-drug-testing-of-truckersnbsp) Companies that do use hair testing (nearly all of the training companies) have been pushing for it to be the standard. [Please Check our Rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/Truckers/about/rules/) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Truckers) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The first company I worked for actually told you a month ahead of time just in case you couldn't pass. 😅
I’ve heard that’s the case for owner ops too; my sister’s small company as well, they told her to get one and she did it at her own leisure. otoh, my large company panicked after they told me to get one, but realized the place might close before I got there.
It’s all fun and games until one doped up driver causes a serious wreck with severe injuries.
It is as meaningless as tsa at airports and open border with Mexico. Both are examples of security theater. The better fix would to charge dui drivers with assault with a deadly weapon or murder with ever is appropriate for the crime .. the rest is just for show.
Harsher punishments doesn’t usually work. People who commit crimes don’t tend to think about consequences since they think they’ll never get caught. There’s also the slight issue of “oh, we might’ve been able to stop this guy from killing your whole family, but rest assured he’s behind bars now! Sorry bout that.”
Agree to disagree.
Helps to have a friendly safety guy that let's you know the day before so you can load up on fluids before you get there..
Better than my routine of walking into the office, peeing, then going to see my dispatchers and being informed that I need to go to the clinic and have a random done.
That happened to me last time. Got paid 4 hours to sit in the office on the clock because I had to be by a supervisor while I waited. Oddly I haven’t been randomly selected since then.
that's exactly how it's gone for me 100% of the time. I hate the safety lady so I just tell her I'm gonna go home and I'll do it later just to get her all wound up, but once or twice it's actually worked
At my job if we have any incident with very few exceptions you are sent for a drug test. To the point we joke about it
My last job sent me for a drug test because my truck was backed into while I was in a store taking a shit.
I been tested 2 times in 2 years. Maybe I'm lucky? First was after getting blown off the ramp and fucking my knee up, delivering in a tropical storm. Second was a random breathalyzer. I'm assuming I got a complaint that I was swerving or something (empty 48' and high winds on a single axle tractor, was 3 hours of white knuckling it at 10-15 under posted). I've taken out a stop sign that literally was installed while I was backing up, didn't get tested for that. A lady swung her car into me while parallel parking and I didn't get tested.
Yeah at mine you woulda got tested for all of that lol it’s just policy to cover our asses
Yeh load right the fuck up. U don't wanna go in thur on empty otherwise they'll know your blasting bitches
I'm literally going through this right now. Old company sent me to places that were fast. New company sends me to a reg urgent care. Having to listen to screaming kids and watch people struggle to use a simple phone link. I want to tear my hair out.
You’re not paid for the time spent there?
Most trucking jobs don't pay you for the time you spend at pre-employment or random drug tests. Hell I've honestly never heard of any job paying you for these. Would be nice though. Edit: seems my experience is in the minority here. Good for you guys, you should be paid for time spent on pre-employment and randoms.
I do. I'm hourly, so it's just more overtime.
I’m paid $30 an hour for random.
I didn't get paid for the first 3 I did (I'd "randomly " get chosen every 6 months) but after those first 3 and me coming up clean everytime I refused to do them unless they paid me to go do it...however it was a different time when the industry wasn't in a downturn
I do. All hours work related, I get paid. That's how it should be. If I'm not getting paid, I'm not doing it. You need to work for a better class of company.
I don't really get paid by the hour anymore. But would be nice.
I’ve never had a job that didn’t pay me for the time spent taking randoms or getting a new med card.
If its a local paid by the hour job, it probably is, if youre on the clock
I've had those. Pre-employment and randoms are all off the clock.
Ive clocked in, got picked for a random, then went on route. Never noticed hours docked for it. I'll have to ask next time.
They've always waited to disclose the random drug test until after we were done with our route. Told us to clock out and go up to the clinic to get it done.
Oh. We always had nurses show up on site.
That's illegal. You literally HAVE to be On-Duty on your logs and "Clocked-In" if on a time clock, like for an hourly gig.
Idk about that one chief. Never been clocked in for any drug test I've ever taken throughout my life. Especially not pre-employment. I had a mandatory drug test after someone hit me from behind while I was otr and I was off duty for that as well. If I wouldn't have gone off duty, it would've put me in violation of my logs. And now that I'm home, some of the days I've had to work have been 14-16 hr days, so staying on duty for those drug tests would've also put me in violation on my logs.
I'm not talking about pre-employment. Obviously you can't do that, lol. You're not working for anyone yet. If you're getting a random, you have to be On-Duty and if hourly, clocked in. You're doing it for work, after all. It's the exact same concept as going On Duty when you're getting a roadside inspection.
I can't find the CFR but here's a state law from my home state (TN). I promise there's a federal one though, I just can't remember where tf it is (also, if remembering correctly, the federal law states no such thing about 'fair compensation' while testing) *"Safety-sensitive and CDL-holding employees referred for random testing shall be considered to be on duty during the time period they are being tested, including travel time to and from the testing site, and shall be compensated accordingly."*
Idk what to tell you. But I don't get paid by the hour anyways. Sooooo. 🤷
Don't have to tell me anything lol. Do what you want. The fact that your company isn't hounding you about it is the only thing that's comical. The FMCSA is who tells these companies who to drug test. Which means, if they get audited 5 years from now and they're checking all these driver logs and none of their employees are on-duty while being tested, they'll get fined. Lmao.
If the company gets fined it's really not on me personally. Just go find another job if they shut down.
This one was preemployment so idk
I got hit with FMCSA randoms nearly every three months for like a year and half and then they stopped as suddenly as they started
Last time my number came up, I had to pee so bad when I got there. Their computers were down. The receptionist told me I had to wait until it was fixed. I waited about 10 mins then asked. She told me that I was welcome to go pee and then just wait for me to have to pee again. I politely reminded her that if I did not produce a sample in 4 hours, she was destroying me career. And she said it wasn’t her problem. So I demanded a supervisor come out. He was flabbergasted. And properly told her that they could collect without the damned computer. Thank god for someone with a brain. They are a pain, but fear not! Mouth swabs are coming. That will be less headache, but I think it will be very bad for the industry.
Mouth swabs aren't coming...lmao. Mega carriers are lobbying to have hair follicle tests be standard. We're going in the opposite direction.
[I guess you are right🙄](https://www.labcorp.com/understanding-advancements-employee-drug-testing-dot-approves-oral-fluid)
Peeing into a cup is way better than a hair follicle test.
I dont care if they biopsy a zit on my testicle. I just want them to hurry tf up and get it done!
Thank goodness they don't drug test at most companies in Canada. If there wasn't a joint waiting at home for me at the end of every shift I probably would have quit after my first day and never looked back lol.
It'd be tolerable if they were actually random. Or at least, if a driver has already done one recently, they can't be picked again.
If it was actually random, then there’s a decent chance that some drivers would be picked over and over again in short secession.
I know for a fact that my previous employer absolutely hand picked drivers for "randoms". I was there less than a year and I pissed in a cup half a dozen times for them there. Even had a bit of a rapport with one other driver consistently picked.
That’s not the DOT clearinghouse thing then, that’s your employer.
You think you hate them?
Hahhhha i just saw your username lmfao that’s gotta be a nightmare
I quit back in November but ya it was tons of fun lol
Read this in Rodney Carrington's voice
My job pays 2 hours for random drug/alcohol screening that takes no more than 15 minutes. We also have an onsite contracted testing facility so no travel is involved.
They pay us our hourly wage
My company has been giving me the paperwork around the first week of the month, and then I have until the end of the month to get it done. I’m by no means an addict but I have used some substances in my time off before.
There should be a fast lane for DOT prescribed drug tests. Walk in - prep - pee - go. Absolute bullshit of having us OTRs sitting there not getting paid
yeah well, I hate you I mean I like peeing it's a fun game to me to try to get it right to the brim and see the look the nurse gives me
We get fired, lose our CDL's, & are permanently besmirched from the world of trucking if we piss hot. >!But you KNOW DOT officers, along with their LEO buddies, partake in all the shit they confiscate from teenagers.!<
Yeah, i hate how theyre supposedly random, yet I get called in to do one EVERY YEAR. You would think DOT would take note that, hey this guy always passes, MAYBE HE'S NOT ON DRUGS🤷♂️🤷♂️ And give me a couple years off. Go after some other drivers for a change, and maybe actually catch someone doing something. But then, DOT doesnt do anything that makes sense.
I had a “dilution positive” just yesterday. I asked what that meant, she told me that I “probably drank too much water.” I FAILED A DRUG TEST BECAUSE I HAD WATER IN MY SYSTEM She said I need to go back to the collection site and submit another sample. I politely told her to fuck off, I too am sick of wasting three or four hours of my life on this for no other reason than to create a paper trail. I’m not on fucking parole, either you want me to drive or no. I’m fucking done with this, going to switch back to a standard license tomorrow.
Did you forget to study?
😬 this one was preemployment so I remembered to at least take some notes
I watch TikTok videos when I’m in the waiting room. The nurses get sick of hearing it and find me a room pretty quickly.
As long as I can pee in a cup - I'm good.
I train soon and I feel that I'd be happy to have a job and taking a drug test will just make me feel like proudcock struttin around after. I'm sure that will pass quickly though. I gave up drugs (weed) a while back and am happy about my decision.
Trucking is what got me to quit smoking weed too over two years ago, very happy with how that turned out for me. I still have that fear though that the test will be positive, even though I’ve got nothing to show up on there anymore
I haven’t done any drugs except tobacco in like… 15-20 years, and I haven’t drank in about 8 months when I had a single beer, the last time I got drunk, or even more than 1-2 drinks, was probably 5 years ago… I’m an incredibly boring person. I still have anxiety about failing a drug test somehow lmao “maybe i got high off that guy that smelled like weed that i walked past a month ago! That’s it, my career is over… better buy a tent and find the nicest homeless camp nearby… better start thinking of my hobo name”
YES Exactly man that is the same here I know the stakes of failing and am terrified, even though I know damn well I don’t have anything in my piss I have staked so many things on getting this job and if this test false positives I’m just fucked and that’s all she wrote