Drug Testing And Lobbyists

I just read an article stating that according to the FMCSA that there has been a 40% rise in refusals to be drug tested and drivers are leaving the industry. ATRI, American Truck Driving Research Institute dug into the causes. They report the actual cause is due to the federal ban on cannabis.

Of course ATA, American Trucking Assoc. chimed in with their standard line how much of a driver shortage there is, and the fed’s are contributing to it with their drug testing policy.

Of course they are stating how much trouble the whole supply chain is in and stating that by removing cannabis it will make everything alright.

Look for a new rule making coming from FMCSA, thanks to the ATA, which only represents mega carriers.

Again relax and change the rules to gain more drivers.

Daily I see articles of horiffic truck crashes and trucks striking infastructure. Yesterday and latest is a 21 yr old pulling an excavator doing 500k damage to a overpass in Texas and fleeing the scene.

FMCSA needs to get back to supporting highway safety in my opinion.

As one who quit in October of 2022, I can honestly say that any relaxation in guidelines for CMV's will result in a massive increase in CMV crashes. THC and its effects linger for a long time and taking off 8 hours or even a day won't sober you up completely and at 100% sharpness.

It took me several months to get my "full" brain back after quitting. I guess when you smoke it for years you just assume your brain is getting dull from aging.

As with most issues that goes to DC,

The FMCSA is a reflection of the woke administration (regime) that siezed power. In general, their agenda is praise the criminal and punish the victim.

The financial side of it is than in order, large retailers and shippers, then carriers benefit from having a large pool of drivers available. It reduces the labor burden for the carriers which in turn keeps drivers wages artificially low and the shippers and retailers continue to pay as little as possible for shipping.

Retailers and manufacturers hate having to pay for shipping. It's their single largest cost. They continue to post record profits while drivers continue to loose wage capacity.

I could forsee shoulder tapping police and sheriff's lobbying groups to combat it, perhaps organizations like Madd and faith based lobbying groups. But until the current regime is removed, little hope exists.

Retailers and manufacturers hate having to pay for shipping. It's their single largest cost.

Now I see why you think businesses are obsessed with cutting the cost of shipping. You're under the impression it's a far greater cost than it is. Here are some very basic stats:

Retailers typically have the following cost breakdown:

• Cost of goods sold (COGS): 50-60%
• Labor: 10-20%
• Rent and utilities: 5-10%
• Marketing and advertising: 5-10%
• Transportation and logistics: 5-10%

For manufacturers, the cost breakdown is generally as follows:

• Raw materials: 40-50%
• Labor: 20-30%
• Overhead (including rent, utilities, and administrative expenses): 10-20%
• Transportation and logistics: 5-10%

Here are two examples of large retailers and manufacturers and their transportation costs:

Walmart: According to a report, Walmart's transportation costs account for approximately 3% of its total revenue.

Procter & Gamble: P&G spends about 3% of its total revenue on transportation and logistics.

As you can see, the shipping cost is relatively small compared with other retail and manufacturing costs. Walmart invests heavily in its drivers, yet the cost of transporting goods is almost trivial for its business.

If they wanted to drive down the cost of labor in trucking, they would make it easy for immigrants to get a CDL on a work VISA. In my mind, that's the biggest threat to wages in our industry. However, the media would have a field day once accidents started to happen, which is why it's likely not feasible. It could also be considered a threat to national security.

With regard to drug testing, the optics would be horrendous if they said they would stop testing for Cannabis. It would be a media circus.

There is no shortage of drivers, as most of us know, and with our current economy, there will be a strong influx of drivers with limited growth potential for carriers over the next couple of years. I don't expect any legislation to go through anytime soon that would help push more drivers into trucking. The industry simply doesn't need it.

As with alot of things going on at the federal level these days they are passing RULES instead of legislation.

Unelected and too a degree unaccountable folks are using the rule making process to promote an agenda. All under the guise of safety.

Latest example is the speed limiters. That is such a bad rule they are pushing that congress has passed legislation out of the house to stop it. Of course it is stalled in the senate. We will be force fed this at some point.

Congressman Mike Collins fron Ga is a trucking company owner and is trying to fight the bad ideas, IE rules. I called his office friday and sent them a copy of the article so they can watch it to see if it gains any traction. He has a youtube channel where he has alot of information regarding things the fed’s are doing regarding our industry.

the optics would be horrendous if they said they would stop testing for Cannabis. It would be a media circus.

I have to agree with Brett here. While many people want legalized Marijuana, very few want people driving 18 wheelers while high. He mentioned "legislation," but it was in a general sense. I'm certain he means the whole rule making process.

PJ brings up something that should be on everyone's radar. Committees in D.C. can and do accomplish what they want without the need for "legislation." All they have to do is get something entered in the "Federal Register" and it then becomes a rule we must all abide by.

There is a process they have to conform to, and it takes some time. One good step in that process is the public comment period. Many of their "bad ideas" have been shot down during that required step in the process. The problem is that most of us are busy and never even think about what is happening with the Federal Register, but it's worth paying attention to.

We've actually had some good things put in place there that have benefited the industry. I would still not be able to drive OTR in a class 8 vehicle were it not for the "Alternative Vision Standard" set in place through this very process.