Researchers at the University of Central Arkansas concluded that urinalysis, the primary means of Department of Transportation (DOT) truck driver drug screenings, misses about 90% of actual drug use.
The university analyzed more than 936,000 licensed commercial truck driver pre-employment urine and hair drug screens from between 2017 and 2022 submitted by members of the Trucking Alliance, a coalition of freight transportation companies that seeks to advance federal safety reforms that can eliminate large truck crash fatalities. UCA researcher Dr. Doug Voss said carriers provided researchers with data indicating the number of passed/failed urine and hair tests and if drivers failed either test, carriers provided data on the drug detected. Researchers analyzed this data to compare urine and hair test results.
Hair testing uncovered use of opioids at a rate greater than 25-times than what was caught in urine-based drug screening; 23 times more cocaine; 13 times more amphetamines/methamphetamines; 5 times more Marijuana; 65 times more ecstasy; and 3 times more PCP. Results indicate hair testing produced a positivity rate 9 times higher than urinalysis and hair testing uncovered more positive drug tests across every illegal drug, every examined age group and every U.S. state. Hair testing uncovered 10 times more drug positives in 2022 alone.
“I don’t see how anyone can reasonably argue with these drug test results, given the large disparity in positivity rates between hair and urine testing for every drug, and a sample of almost 1 million drug tests,” said Voss. “At some point it’s like arguing whether the sun will rise tomorrow.”
The Trucking Alliance has long advocated in favor DOT-recognized hair follicle drug testing, yet DOT in May elected to add oral fluid testing to its list of approved methods.
"Oral swabs will be an excellent way for law enforcement to test for drug and alcohol impairment at the scene of an accident. No longer will truck drivers have the opportunity to skirt the system and never show up for a post-accident drug test, as many likely do now," said Trucking Alliance Managing Director Lane Kidd, noting that NHTSA can only account for one-third of truck drivers involved in fatal accidents in 2021 who actually took a drug test after, and that FMCSA does not audit whether each truck driver in a fatal accident actually submits to a post-accident drug test.
"So, while oral swabs are great for identifying immediate past alcohol or drug use, FMCSA’s regulations are more about regular alcohol or drug use in pre-employment hiring practice and that’s different. Otherwise, FMCSA would just require drivers to take a breathalyzer test when applying for a job," he added. "Only a real stupid person would show up to apply for a job either drunk or high. That’s why hair drug testing is so useful. A hair drug test has a long detection window and the results can show not only if the person took a drug but how frequently the driver took a drug, like heroin or cocaine, in the previous 90 days. That’s what employers want to know and to avoid in hiring. There is not a more accurate method to test for regular illegal drug use than a hair test."
