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TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE |
FTA Drug and Alcohol Regulation Updates Issue 34, page 3 |
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TSI Expands Course Offerings, Includes Reasonable
Suspicion Seminar The Transportation Safety Institute (TSI) has expanded its offerings of general transit safety courses to include a one-day seminar on reasonable suspicion determinations for supervisors. The course is designed to educate transit system employees who may be called on to make reasonable suspicion determinations under the FTA drug and alcohol testing regulations. Participants will be introduced to the signs, symptoms, and physical, behavioral, speech, and performance indicators of probable drug use and alcohol misuse. Participants are instructed on the roles and responsibilities of supervisors and how to make fair and reliable reasonable suspicion testing referrals. This course meets the FTA requirement (49 CFR Part 655.14) for supervisor reasonable suspicion training. A certificate of completion will be provided to each participant that completes the class. To register for an upcoming class or to volunteer to be a host site, call TSI at (405) 954-3682 or go to http://www.tsi.dot.gov. The Reasonable Suspicion Seminar is provided for a cost of $25. The following seminar dates have openings: Tampa, FL: March 20, 2008 Austin, TX: March 31 and April 1, 2008 Kansas City, MO: July 8 and July 9, 2008 Transit Positive Drug Test Results Lower Than U.S. Workforce Quest Diagnostics Incorporated recently published its semi-annual Drug Testing Index (DTI) for the 2005 calendar year. The DTI summarizes the results of more than 7.3 million workplace drug tests performed by Quest Diagnostics. It is published as a public service and has been considered a benchmark for national trends since its inception in 1988. The DTI reports positive rates for federally-mandated safety-sensitive workers, the general workforce, and the combined U.S. workforce. Federally-mandated safety-sensitive workers include all employees covered under the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Department of Transportation regulations including the Federal Transit Administration. Positive rates for each category are calculated by determining the proportion of positive results for each category to the total number of drug tests performed in the category. The data is reported by type of employee, reason for test, and drug type. Overall, the DTI indicated that workplace drug use fell to its lowest level since the DTI was first published. The combined U.S. workforce in 2005 had a 4.1% positive rate compared to 4.5% in 2004. The decrease was primarily attributed to a decrease in marijuana drug test results among those tested. The data showed that the use of marijuana among the combined workforce fell by approximately 12.0% from 2004 to 2005. The 2005 federally-mandated, safety-sensitive (FMSS) workforce positive rate of 2.3% is significantly lower than the general U.S. workforce positive rate of 4.5%. When viewing random tests only, the general U.S. workforce had a 6.6% positive rate compared to a 1.8% positive random rate for the FMSS workforce. Florida Training Video Available The Florida Department of Transportation funded the development of a new video for use by transit systems to meet the employee drug awareness training required by §655.14(b). The regulation requires that each covered employer provide a minimum of sixty minutes of training to all safety-sensitive employees on the effects and consequences of prohibited drug use on personal health, safety, and the work environment. This training must also address the signs and symptoms that may indicate drug use. The video created by the Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR) at the University of South Florida, was developed to be a fresh, entertaining, up-to-date training tool that can be used to supplement an agency’s own training materials. The twenty minute video provides background on DOT drug and alcohol testing, describes each of the five prohibited drugs and alcohol, outlines the test categories, and describes the consequences of a positive or refused test. CUTR has also developed an accompanying handbook. The video and handbook have numerous references to Florida; however, CUTR is making the materials available to all interested agencies in DVD format and as a streaming media on their website. For more information, contact Ms. Diana Byrnes at (813) 426-6980 or review the webcast at http://www.cutr.usf.edu/byrnessamsite. |
Where To Find?..... 49 CFR Part 40, Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug Testing Programs Revised: December 19, 2000 Federal Register Vol. 65, Pages 79462-79579. Primary Topic: Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Program Revised Final Rule (49 CFR Part 40) July 25, 2003 Federal Register 68 Pages 43946-43964 Primary Topic: One Page MIS Form January 22, 2004 Federal Register Vol. 69 Pages 3021-3022 Primary Topic: Expand List of SAPS Technical Amendments: August 1, 2001 Federal Register Vol. 66 Pages 41943-41955 Primary Topic: Clarifications and Collections to Part 40; Common Preamble to Modal Rules Interim Final Rule November 9, 2006 Federal Register Vol. 69 Pages 64865-64868 Primary Topic: Specimen Validity Testing Final Rule Change August 23, 2006 Federal Register Vol. 71 Pages 49382-49384 Primary Topic: Expanded List of SAP Qualifications
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