On December 1, 2011, the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued a Notice to Carriers concerning DOT Supervisory Drug and Alcohol Testing. The notice's purpose was to advise carriers that certain vendors pushing supervisory training were not affiliated with the FMCSA.
However, the notice itself cited a regulation that is important to driver safety. Federal Regulations 49 CFR Section 382.603 states,
"Each employer shall ensure that [supervisors] receive at least 60 minutes of training on alcohol misuse and receive at least an additional 60 minutes of training on controlled substances use ... to determine whether reasonable suspicion exists to require a driver to undergo testing ... The training shall include the physical, behavioral, speech, and performance indicators of probable alcohol misuse and use of controlled substances. Recurrent training for supervisory personnel is not required."
Regulations such as this highlight the importance of determining the work history of a driver that may have caused a truck accident. In some cases, pursuing a theory of liability for the negligent training, supervision or retention of a driver may be appropriate. As a rule, potential violations of this regulation represent just another reason to initiate an investigation of a claim as soon as possible after an accident.
Mike Sudekum is an trucking accident attorney with offices in St. Louis and Wentzville (by appointment), Missouri. You may contact him here.
