The risks posed to innocent people in Kentucky by drunk drivers is nothing new. Given that the holidays have just recently passed, you have likely and unfortunately heard at least one report about an accident caused by a drunk or even a drugged driver. It is sadly not only everyday citizens operating their personal vehicles who may make the dangerous choice to drive while impaired. Truck drivers and operators of other commercial vehicles may do this as well.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is the arm of the federal government tasked with overseeing commercial transportation in the United States. In the last few years, it has established its Commercial Driver’s License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse to help prevent impaired driving among truckers. This program requires all employers of commercial drivers to test applicants for substance use prior to completing a new hire and once every year thereafter.
Five different drugs including marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, opiates and more as well as alcohol are looked for. Any blood alcohol content over 0.04 percent and any trace of one of the banned drugs results in a test failure. A driver who refuses to take a test is said to have failed the test. Failures render a trucker unable to drive until completing certain steps.
If you would like to learn more about how the trucking industry is supposed to managed and prevent impaired driving among truckers as part of an overall safety effort, please feel free to visit the drunk or drugged trucker page of our Kentucky personal injury website.