Driver Alcohol and Drug testing

Every state requires that its motor vehicle drivers take a driver alcohol test at some point during the application process for licensing or certification. This assessment is conducted in a private, roomy environment with few (if any) other drivers or guests around. Most of these tests are conducted by the employer, although in some cases the courts have ordered independent testing if there is any dispute about the subjectivity of the employer's test.

It must be noted that there is currently an exemption to the legal requirement for a driver alcohol test. That exemption pertains to cases of mistaken identity; basically, a driver who signs his own ticket as the driver of another vehicle. In this regard, an employer can request that a judge excuse a driver's identification because of the fact that he was not actually driving the automobile in which he was cited. As an employee, the only way to avoid such an order would be to lie.

Nonetheless, it is possible that a current Driver Alcohol Test, even one administered post-hoc, may still uncover evidence of substance abuse. That is why employers frequently require a driver alcohol test, even when there is no current legal requirement for the same. A pre-employment drug screening test can uncover otherwise hidden drug use. Unfortunately, the fact that they are often mandated by the employer does not alleviate any legal responsibility for the accuracy of these tests. That responsibility rests with the courts.

Why Drug or alcohol testing is important?

1.  It prevents accidents to happen

2. It improves the driver’s health and morale.

3. Improves productivity.

4. It provides a safe place for others.

Most court decisions involving compulsory drug testing have concluded that mandatory random drug checks violate the rights of individuals to privacy protected by the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Amendment protects individuals against unreasonable searches and seizures but includes no express guarantee of privacy. Because the drug searches conducted pursuant to these compulsory laws violate the individual's right to privacy, they violate the Constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech and expression. Thus, whether the searches are conducted at the workplace or elsewhere, they infringe upon the constitutional rights of individuals. To know more programs you can check the website of a Drug Testing Agency www.usadrugtesting.org.

Although there is no national mandate for state employers to administer driver alcohol tests, states still maintain some level of latitude when it comes to deciding how and when such tests should be administered. Most state constitutions allow for reasonable suspicionless searches and seizures before suspicion of wrongdoing is detected, but the Supreme Court has held that this protection extends only to arrest-based searches. Because the tests conducted today cannot reliably detect recent drug use, most courts have concluded that suspicionless drug testing violates the rights of drivers to privacy. So, in general, this testing is important to keep our environment clean and safe.