FTA Drug and Alcohol Regulation Updates
Issue 13, page 4

For Your Information

Amended:
February 15, 1994
Federal Register Vol. 59
Pages 7340-7366
Primary Topic: DOT Alcohol Testing Procedures
Procedures for Split Sample
Procedures for Drug Testing

August 19, 1994
Federal Register Vol.59
Pages 42996-43018
Primary Topic: Clarified Urine Specimen and Collection Procedures and Clarified Alcohol Testing Procedures

April 19, 1995
Federal Register Vol.60
Pages 19535-19537
Primary Topic: Standardized Chain of Custody and Control Form

April 20, 1995
Federal Register Vol.60
Pages 19675-19681
Primary Topic: Established Procedures for Use of Non-evidential Alcohol Screening Devices

The information presented on this page should be used to update Chapter 2 of the Implementation Guidelines.

Drug Testing: Is It Working?

   The primary intent of the Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of 1991 was to achieve a drug- and alcohol-free transportation work force in the interest of the health and safety of employees and the public. The resulting regulations (49 CFR Parts 653 and 654) promulgated by the Federal Transit Administration and subsequent guidance have been designed to deter and detect the illegal use of drugs and misuse of alcohol by transit safety-sensitive employees.
   Even though the transit industry is not yet free of illegal drugs, the anecdotal evidence indicates that drug testing is working, transit systems across the country are safer and more productive, and employee morale has improved. More specifically, data reported by the transit industry through the annual Management Information System (MIS) submissions have provided quantitative documentation of the impact of the program.
   The data for the 1995-1998 calendar years have been summarized and published in annual reports for each of the respective years. The 1998 annual report will be available from FTA in January, 2000.

   A comparison of the test results combined for all FTA test categories since 1995 indicates that the positive test rate for drugs has declined at a steady rate.
   As can be seen in the accompanying chart, the positive rate for all FTA drug tests has decreased from a high of 2.14% in 1995 to 1.67% in 1998. This change represents a decrease of 22%.
   The chart also shows the decline in positive test results that have occurred for all workplace drug tests over the past decade as represented by the Drug Testing Index (DTI), maintained by Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, a leading provider of drug testing services in the United States. The DTI is derived from 2.8 million drug tests of federally mandated, safety-sensitive workers and the general workforce.
   According to the DTI, in 1988 the positive drug test rate was 13.6%, . Ten years later in 1998, this rate dropped to 4.8%.
   The long-term downward trend indicates that testing programs are deterring use, while the positive rates indicate that testing programs are successfully detecting workers who still choose to use.
   Is it working? Most would answer, Yes!

“Test Cheater” Numbers Growing

   According to the Drug Testing Index (DTI) released by Quest Diagnostics Incorporated on October 19, 1999, individuals who are trying to beat their drug test made up a significant percentage of positive test results during the first half of 1999. The DTI defines cheaters as those whose urine specimens contain adulterants and those who substitute specimens. Nearly 2% of the positive test results included in the DTI were attributed to cheaters. Among the most common adulterants are oxidizing agents including nitrites used as masking agents intended to defeat the process of detecting drug use. Also common are substituted specimens that do not contain certain chemical components characteristic of normal human urine. These adulterants can be identified by labs by performing basic validity tests on specimens.