Quote:
Originally Posted by fireman932003
Just curious, why the two drug test for dedicated???? I have never heard that before.
The hair testing plus urine testing started over a year ago after one of our newer drivers on a dedicated account had an accident and killed two people. Supposedly he was high. Scary. He passed all the background tests and unine tests but obviously that wasnt enough. So soon after that we started doing hair tests along with the urine tests. ( also we recruiters now have to do hair tests too because of that accident). Lets just say the powers above are very very anti-drug and absolutley dont want anything to do with a driver or any other employee with any sort of drug history. If a driver even mentions drug use when Im recruiting him, Im not allowed to hire him. Even if he says jokingly, Yeah, I havent done any drugs in 10 years. There are drivers on this board, most recently that lady with her boyfriend and they both had a "possesson charge". She couldnt understand why no company would give her a chance. THIS IS EXACTLY WHY. Drugs and this industry just dont mix well. Sorry if you have been clean for 20 years....its just not worth the risk hiring you. And quite honestly after that accident, I really just dont feel that bad about not being able to hire you.
Personally, I think this is a great thing and all trucking companies should start doing it. Even though the recruiter in me thinks it sucks because after the hair testing started, it went from 2% of drivers failing the drug test to 14%. Less money for me....however great when Im out on the road with my family.
The scary thing about that accident for me, is I was the recruiter who actually hired that guy. It really messed with my head bad. I almost quit because of it. I had known the driver really well from talking to him so much and honestly...he seemed like an OK guy to me. I guess you never know. Only after some time off, did I come to grips with it, accepted that I did everything I could and it wasnt really my fault.
Ok, I got off on another one of my anti drug use rants. As you can see, this is a very passionate subject for me. Perhaps after Ive explained this story, it helps people understand why Im very passionate about this and occasionally go off on rants about drivers failing the drug test. Or when drivers who are complaining about not being able to find a job with a drug history, why I seem a little bit cold and uncaring towards them.
