No evidence to support change to hair testing, OOIDA says

As the Trucking Alliance pushes for truck drivers to be screened for drugs via hair testing, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association maintains its stance that there is no evidence to support the change.

“The Trucking Alliance has yet to demonstrate that they have experienced a reduction in crash rate since their voluntary adoption of hair testing,” the OOIDA Foundation wrote in its one-pager on the topic. “Neither have they presented evidence showing that their hair testing labs meet the rigorous standards of scientific methodology for testing or that their hair testing equipment and protocol has been consistent and unbiased.”

Urinalysis satisfies the current FMCSA drug and alcohol testing requirements. However, the Trucking Alliance has reportedly been lobbying Congress to introduce legislation in 2019 that would require truck drivers to receive hair testing.

“Although the Trucking Alliance claims that hair testing is a safety issue, the facts clearly demonstrate that their petition is a solution in search of a problem,” the OOIDA Foundation wrote.

There were 32,166 fatal motor vehicle crashes in the United States in 2015. According to data reported by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, truck drivers recorded a positive drug test result in 185 of those crashes, which amounts to 0.58 percent.

“While any fatality is too many, it is doubtful that any alternative testing methodology will reduce that percentage,” OOIDA wrote.

The Association also maintains its concerns for the potential bias involved with hair testing.

“Studies have indicated that hair testing for controlled substances has a bias toward hair color and texture, particularly for those individuals with darker hair,” OOIDA wrote. “Other issues with hair testing which have yet to be addressed include the problem that different individuals grow hair at different rates and that it takes much longer for metabolites to appear in hair than in urine.”

In 2017, several big fleets, including J.B. Hunt Transport, Schneider National Carriers, Werner Enterprises, Knight Transportation, Dupre Logistics and Maverick Transportation requested that the FMCSA grant them an exemption, allowing them to use hair testing in lieu of urinalysis for pre-employment screenings of truck drivers.

OOIDA spoke out against the exemption request, asking FMCSA not to grant an exemption “for an unproven methodology using nonstandardized procedures and protocols that could possibly affect the livelihood of thousands of drivers.”

“OOIDA believes that before any alternative testing methodology is allowed in lieu of a proven methodology, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (should) be allowed access to the applicants’ hair testing and crash data to review for validity and to substantiate claims of a reduction in crashes,” the Association wrote.