Drug Use and Trucking

Interesting find I came across while looking into the accident that shut down I-75 just north of Chattanooga and caused us some grief last weekend--that accident has some interesting sidebars to discuss as well, but not in a law and order sub-forum. Anyway, while looking, I found a real nasty accident that happened in the same area back in 2015.

6 killed and 6 more seriously injured after a semi going almost 80 MPH slammed into a line of stopped cars. The driver--no sleep for 40 hours and on drugs. Great.

The guy's trial is scheduled for June. But, this is one of those situations that should never have happened. The guy has a history of crashes, failed drug tests and being fired from other trucking companies. But yet, here he was, still behind the wheel of a big rig.

Benjamin Scott Brewer?s Methamphetamine use, fatigue, led to fiery truck crash on the Chattanooga stretch of Interstate 75 that killed six people « Methamphetamine in the news

Brewer had crashed seven times in the five years before the June 2015 crash and had been fired from a previous trucking company for testing positive for methamphetamine in 2013. A month before the fatal June crash, he again tested positive for methamphetamine, although that test was not related to his commercial driving.

Despite those red flags, Brewer was still hired by Cool Runnings Express, a small London, Ky., trucking company — in part because the owner, Billy Sizemore, didn’t know about Brewer’s past.

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So, what gives? How the hell did this guy land another driving job? Well...

...in Kentucky and Idaho the background check does not automatically include crash data, according to the NTSB. So, even though Brewer had crashed four times in the previous three years, those crashes were not included on the background check that Cool Runnings Express reviewed.

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How the hell can prior crashes not be part of a background check for hiring a freaking driver?

calamity said:

Interesting find I came across while looking into the accident that shut down I-75 just north of Chattanooga and caused us some grief last weekend--that accident has some interesting sidebars to discuss as well, but not in a law and order sub-forum. Anyway, while looking, I found a real nasty accident that happened in the same area back in 2015.

6 killed and 6 more seriously injured after a semi going almost 80 MPH slammed into a line of stopped cars. The driver--no sleep for 40 hours and on drugs. Great.

The guy's trial is scheduled for June. But, this is one of those situations that should never have happened. The guy has a history of crashes, failed drug tests and being fired from other trucking companies. But yet, here he was, still behind the wheel of a big rig.

Benjamin Scott Brewer?s Methamphetamine use, fatigue, led to fiery truck crash on the Chattanooga stretch of Interstate 75 that killed six people « Methamphetamine in the news



So, what gives? How the hell did this guy land another driving job? Well...



How the hell can prior crashes not be part of a background check for hiring a freaking driver?

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So it seems what the problem is, is states not reporting crash data on MVRs. Also trucking companies are only required to tell future employers about DOT recordable accidents (see below) and if his accidents were minor it's entirely possible his previous employers didn't report these accidents in their accident registers or to his current employer, if it's not a DOT accident they're not required to and many do not

As far as drug testing goes, if he had failed a drug test his license would've been suspended if it were a DOT drug test. A DOT drug test (one that goes against your CDL) is a regulated process under the law. A DOT test can only be administered
1)Pre employment
2) at random
3) upon reasonable suspicion of a supervisor trained to recognized drug impairment
4) post accident on a DOT recordable crash (a crash on a public street involving a fatality, an injury requiring medical treatment away from the scene, or disabling damage to any power vehicle requiring said vehicle be towed) in which the driver is cited.

Companies can drug test you for any reason, but any test other then those four is not a DOT test and by law cannot be reported to a future DOT employer or reported to state licensing authorities.

So that company that fired him probably wanted him gone but didn't have cause to test him, so they did a non DOT test and fired him. Now if it was a DOT test you can get a second chance by seeing a substance abuse professional and following return to duty procedures, that could have happened to.

Sure humans use drugs. Pretty much every house built in the US has a "medicine cabinet" in each bathroom. Legal or illegal, prescription or OTC, humans use a wide variety of drugs for a wide variety of perceived advantages.

If the truckers were not forced by market force or employers to drive such long hours, there might not be need for drugs beyond the ordinary caffeine. Long hours and low wages can be dealt with only by the use of chemical stimulants.

Thoreau72 said:

Sure humans use drugs. Pretty much every house built in the US has a "medicine cabinet" in each bathroom. Legal or illegal, prescription or OTC, humans use a wide variety of drugs for a wide variety of perceived advantages.

If the truckers were not forced by market force or employers to drive such long hours, there might not be need for drugs beyond the ordinary caffeine. Long hours and low wages can be dealt with only by the use of chemical stimulants.

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I will not argue that there has not been serious commoditization going on in the trucking industry. Customers want the cheapest hauling rates they can find, and trucking companies want to maximize profits on ever declining revenues per mile. The guy stuck in the middle is the driver. So, wages are cut as low as they can go while still finding someone who will drive at that rate, and safety is put far away on the back shelf.

There are all sorts of rules though about maximum hours you can drive in a day and number of days you can drive in a row. Anyone staying awake 40 hours and pumping meth is clearly in violation of those rules. I'm guessing this guy's issue had more to do with a drug problem than it did low wages and poor working conditions.

Question:

do these trucks not contain a black box?

Here in Canada, our UPS drivers all have what they essentially refer to as a black box. If they are involved in an accident it is viewed and would tell how many hours they have been on the road and exactly what speed they were traveling. They also receive extensive defensive driving lessons and there are ten driving points they must adhere to and they are tested randomly on their knowledge?

calamity said:

I will not argue that there has not been serious commoditization going on in the trucking industry. Customers want the cheapest hauling rates they can find, and trucking companies want to maximize profits on ever declining revenues per mile. The guy stuck in the middle is the driver. So, wages are cut as low as they can go while still finding someone who will drive at that rate, and safety is put far away on the back shelf.

There are all sorts of rules though about maximum hours you can drive in a day and number of days you can drive in a row. Anyone staying awake 40 hours and pumping meth is clearly in violation of those rules. I'm guessing this guy's issue had more to do with a drug problem than it did low wages and poor working conditions.

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My question is, I wonder what connections there might be, what cause and effect relationship might be, between unrealistic work conditions and drug use? Does the drug use occur because the guy is just a junkie looking for the stimulant high, or the does the drug use occur because the labor conditions encourage it?

We can only speculate about this case, but it seems a study might be conducted to find out the cause and effect relationship between stimulant use and work conditions.

Thoreau72 said:

My question is, I wonder what connections there might be, what cause and effect relationship might be, between unrealistic work conditions and drug use? Does the drug use occur because the guy is just a junkie looking for the stimulant high, or the does the drug use occur because the labor conditions encourage it?

We can only speculate about this case, but it seems a study might be conducted to find out the cause and effect relationship between stimulant use and work conditions.

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Trucking is a very challenging job. I read a book on trucker serial killers and they asked the same question, but with a twist: does trucking attract serial killers or does the job create them?

Long hours of isolation, an ever increasing sense that the people are just cars on the freeway who annoy, thus leading to a gradual decrease in feeling empathy, that sort of thing has been pointed to as perhaps pushing truckers over the edge. Add to that harsh treatment from ownership, i.e. low wages and long hours; and one can see where the job itself may drive people to lash out at something...or start using drugs.

calamity said:

Trucking is a very challenging job. I read a book on trucker serial killers and they asked the same question, but with a twist: does trucking attract serial killers or does the job create them?

Long hours of isolation, an ever increasing sense that the people are just cars on the freeway who annoy, thus leading to a gradual decrease in feeling empathy, that sort of thing has been pointed to as perhaps pushing truckers over the edge. Add to that harsh treatment from ownership, i.e. low wages and long hours; and one can see where the job itself may drive people to lash out at something...or start using drugs.

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We can speculate until we are blue in the face. We can imagine hypotheticals until the chickens come home to roost, but a more logical approach would be some behavioral studies with interviews and intelligent questions. Perhaps not as precise as physics, behavioral science can help address some problems.

Thoreau72 said:

We can speculate until we are blue in the face. We can imagine hypotheticals until the chickens come home to roost, but a more logical approach would be some behavioral studies with interviews and intelligent questions. Perhaps not as precise as physics, behavioral science can help address some problems.

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For now, all we have are statistics. And, those are daunting.


https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/stories/2009/april/highwayserial_040609

calamity said:

Interesting find I came across while looking into the accident that shut down I-75 just north of Chattanooga and caused us some grief last weekend--that accident has some interesting sidebars to discuss as well, but not in a law and order sub-forum. Anyway, while looking, I found a real nasty accident that happened in the same area back in 2015.

6 killed and 6 more seriously injured after a semi going almost 80 MPH slammed into a line of stopped cars. The driver--no sleep for 40 hours and on drugs. Great.

The guy's trial is scheduled for June. But, this is one of those situations that should never have happened. The guy has a history of crashes, failed drug tests and being fired from other trucking companies. But yet, here he was, still behind the wheel of a big rig.

Benjamin Scott Brewer?s Methamphetamine use, fatigue, led to fiery truck crash on the Chattanooga stretch of Interstate 75 that killed six people « Methamphetamine in the news



So, what gives? How the hell did this guy land another driving job? Well...



How the hell can prior crashes not be part of a background check for hiring a freaking driver?

Click to expand...

All this should be on his DAC report and CSA report as well. There is more to this story on the employers side. Those accidents should have up somewhere as well as any other violations, his insurance would or should have found them. The driver was already essentially unemployable. The insurance rates with his record would have been prohibitive if they insured the driver at all which I sincerely doubt.

The trucking industry is THE most heavily regulated industry in the country period. There is more to this story about the driver, because he wouldn't have been hired in ordinary circumstance. His employment would have been cost prohibitive to say the least, not even mentioning liability concerns.

Note I am in the industry, I own a trucking and logistics company.

PirateMk1 said:

All this should be on his DAC report and CSA report as well. There is more to this story on the employers side. Those accidents should have up somewhere as well as any other violations, his insurance would or should have found them. The driver was already essentially unemployable. The insurance rates with his record would have been prohibitive if they insured the driver at all which I sincerely doubt.

The trucking industry is THE most heavily regulated industry in the country period. There is more to this story about the driver, because he wouldn't have been hired in ordinary circumstance. His employment would have been cost prohibitive to say the least, not even mentioning liability concerns.

Note I am in the industry, I own a trucking and logistics company.

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That's a good point. We won't even allow people with poor driving records use our company vehicles to go down the street.

calamity said:

For now, all we have are statistics. And, those are daunting.

https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/stories/2009/april/highwayserial_040609

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Daunting but meaningless.

Thoreau72 said:

Daunting but meaningless.

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Not really. With 10 truckers already nailed as serial killers and almost 500 bodied lying dead on or near the interstates...it's a bit indicative of a trend.

Sounds like looking for a nail, IMO....

More federal law enforcement is not the solution to any real problem in society.

_Sal said:

Question:

do these trucks not contain a black box?

Here in Canada, our UPS drivers all have what they essentially refer to as a black box. If they are involved in an accident it is viewed and would tell how many hours they have been on the road and exactly what speed they were traveling. They also receive extensive defensive driving lessons and there are ten driving points they must adhere to and they are tested randomly on their knowledge?

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Any truck made in the last 20 years would.

The media however doesn't know what question to ask, and they don't want to know because reporting real life is boring as hell.

EMNofSeattle said:

Any truck made in the last 20 years would.

The media however doesn't know what question to ask, and they don't want to know because reporting real life is boring as hell.

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okay fair enough