A new bill introduced by U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) last week — the Preventing Opioid and Drug Impairment in Transportation Act (S. 2979) — seeks new drug testing requirements for the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and new research efforts to counter impaired driving.
The USDOT would bear the brunt of changes under the legislation. Not only would it have to determine whether to mandate Amtrak locomotive engineers and conductors to report drug or alcohol-related arrests, it would need to amend its auditing program for greater efficiency on testing multi-state contractors, study the potential for onsite oral fluid screening as a means for detecting drugs in drivers, set guidelines for law enforcement on the use of onsite oral fluid screening and drug recognition protocols, research impairment and report to Congress both on ways the USDOT can reduce and detect impaired driving and on the ability of pipeline companies to require drug and alcohol tests for safety-sensitive personnel outside the United States who are, nevertheless, operating infrastructure within the country.
“Drug and alcohol use can impair drivers’ and transportation employees’ abilities to do their jobs safely,” Wicker said. “My legislation would help protect the public from these risks by requiring the Department of Transportation to strengthen drug and alcohol testing, research, and programs for drivers and those in safety-sensitive jobs.”
The bill would also require Amtrak to report to Congress about the creation of an electronic record database for drug tests and implementing procedures for tracking and monitoring these tests. The Government Accountability Office would have to review interactions between the Department of Health and Human Services and the USDOT to add and remove various drug categories from the testing panel.
Additional reports to Congress could be required to advise members of the guidelines for hair testing and whether or not to add fentanyl to the drug panel.