Commercial Airline Pilot Sold Drug Test Masking Drink to Semi Truck Drivers
As personal injury and wrongful death lawyers, we have seen many accident cases where the serious accident was caused by a truck driver who was under the influence of alcohol or drugs,. The regulations governing semi truck drivers and trucking companies require trucking companies to have potential commercial truck drivers submit to drug tests before they start driving. They also require semi truck drivers to immediately get a drug and alcohol test after causing an accident that results in injuries and/or property damage.
Unfortunately, these regulations are not enforced very well, and many trucking companies do not force their drivers to get the post-accident drug and alcohol tests. Likewise, many truck drivers do not get them on their own. Additionally, there are many reports of fraud with the tests that result in unreliable results.
According to a recent article, a commercial pilot was selling a powder drink mix that would mask the results of a drug test. He was marketing it towards pilots, semi truck drivers and truck engineers, all of whom are required to take drug tests since they have very safety-sensitive jobs. Fortunately, the person selling these drug testing masking kits to pilots and truck drivers was arrested and prosecuted. According to prosecutors, the product worked. Other similar products are on the market and have been the subject of other federal criminal cases.
With today's fairly lax enforcement mechanisms, it is troubling to read a story that provides semi truck drivers and people in similar positions with the means to falsify critical drug tests. The drug tests are particularly important for semi truck drivers when they are required after an accident that causes an injury. If a semi truck driver causes an injury accident while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, the employer (and other potential employers) must be made aware of that fact so the semi truck driver can be prohibited from driving a semi truck and doing the same thing again. Law enforcement officials and personal injury and wrongful death lawyers must also have access to reliable drug test results so the semi truck driver can be properly held accountable for the accident and injuries and/or deaths caused by the accident.
