Ready For Inspection? How To Maintain DOT Compliance For Drug And Alcohol Testing
If you haven't checked your DOT compliance checklists lately, you need to get that taken care of as soon as possible. The last thing you want is to be the proud recipient of a spot inspection when you're definitely out of compliance. Unfortunately, spot inspections don't come with an advance warning, which means you need to be prepared at all times.
If you're new to running the compliance department of your trucking company, the DOT compliance checklists are crucial to your job description. It's up to you to make sure that your company is in complete compliance with every item on those checklists. The drug and alcohol checklist of one area that you need to pay particularly close attention to. Here are three checklist items that you should stay on top of at all times.
Maintain Copies of Pre-Employment Drug Tests
When it comes to maintaining DOT compliance checklists, perhaps some of the most crucial records involve pre-employment drug testing. DOT regulations require that every applicant submit to a pre-employment drug and alcohol test. Those reports must be maintained in the employee files. Failure to maintain those pre-employment drug testing results will lead to problems with non-compliance during an inspection.
Maintain Contact with New Drivers Prior Employers
When you hire new drivers, it's not enough to simply look at a driver's application. You must practice all due-diligence to ensure that the information on the application is factual, including previous driving experience and drug testing results. To ensure the validity of the information, it's important that you make contact with the previous employers of each new driver that you hire.
When making contact with previous employers, you need to ask about previous drug and alcohol test results, driving records, and disciplinary records. That information should be kept in the personnel files that DOT officials will go through during a compliance inspection.
Maintain Pool for Random Drug Testing
When you're running a fleet of trucks, you need to ensure that every driver you have on the road is safe to be there. One way to do that is through drug and alcohol testing. However, to ensure the accuracy of the information, the testing should be conducted randomly. That will prevent drivers from preparing for their testing, which can happen. You can avoid this by maintaining a pool for random drug testing. That way, each driver is required to submit to drug and alcohol testing. However, they won't know when they're turn will come up.
For more information, contact a company like DOT compliance help.