Cannabis, Compliance, and Driver Retention

Welcome everyone.

Thank you for joining us for today’s webinar.

My name is Emily Cash with the Freight Wave Media Team,

and I’m happy to present this webinar in partnership

with Fleet Worthy Today we’ll explore the challenges

and opportunities fleets face in navigating cannabis

regulations, compliance and driver retention,

and an evolving legal landscape.

I’m happy to be joined by fleet worthy compliant experts,

Lori Johnson and Nick Helter.

We’ll also have a live q

and a following the discussion,

so make sure you have your questions ready For our

presenters, before we get started, I’d like

to cover just a couple of housekeeping items.

First, if you have any issues during the webinar,

please feel free to access the help

section in your webinar console.

If you have questions that you would like to ask Nick

or Lori, please enter those, the q

and a box in your console,

and we will answer as many of those as possible

during the live audience q and a following the discussion.

We’ll also be sending a link to the recording

of this webinar tomorrow in case you’d like

to view it on demand or share it to colleagues.

And at this point, I will go ahead and hand over to Lori

and Nick to kick off today’s discussion.

Thanks Emily, and thanks everyone for joining us.

We appreciate you taking time outta your

busy day to join us.

Um, I’m Lori Johnson.

I’ve been with Fleet Worthy

for a little over three years now.

I do have 27 years in transportation industry,

mostly in food distribution and a few years in construction

before starting with Fleet Worthy.

All right, and hi everybody. My name is Nick Helser.

Thank you again for joining us today.

As Lori said, we’re really excited to be here

and represent not only some really good information

to take away, but also, um, just providing some context on

what can be a very multi-layered, uh, topic.

Um, at Fleet Worthy, I’ve been here a little bit less,

a little bit under three years.

I am the driver services manager, so I run several teams

and several processes that handle all of the services

that Fleet Worthy provides when it comes

to the driver portion of operations.

So that is anything to do with drug testing,

with pre-hire services, document flow, what have you.

So again, thank you for for being here.

So let’s start off here by talking about fleet worthy and,

and who we are and what we do.

So fleet worthy, if you are an industry aficionado

and have been paying attention in the news,

we have been quite busy over these last couple years in

terms of combining forces with some very strategic

and powerful companies to offer.

Ultimately, what is what we believe the ultimate suite

of products for compliance and, and ancillary services.

When it comes to operating a motor fleet,

we are the combination of a few different brands.

The first one would be legacy fleet worthy solutions, where,

where Lori and I are coming from the Bestpass company,

the Drivewise company,

and like I mentioned, a couple other, um,

specific services that, uh, that get along

with our full suite of service offerings.

So what does that exactly mean?

The first one is CP Suite

or Compliance Suite, which is our very unique

and proprietary compliance platform that fleets can use

to monitor their drivers, monitor their assets.

They can make sure that compliance

and safety is top priority with a very easy

to use and comprehensive, uh, suite of services,

even just within that one platform.

So a big part of that is compliance records, making sure

that your data is easily available and visible to you

or anybody within your organization that needs to see it.

On top of that, again, combining, uh, powers

with Bestpass Toll, really aiming

to simplify the toll management process

and also to make sure that your dollars are being used

as efficiently as possible in terms of

Form 2290s.

On the asset side, we do have Express Truck Tax

as another one of our sub-brands, which is expediting

and simplifying the process of filling out and submitting

and managing those particular forms.

And then of course, Drivewise,

which really focuses on way station bypass.

It reduces delays, it improves efficiency,

and it makes sure that everything that needs

to be communicated in terms of safety alerts

to keep driver’s, vehicles

and the rest of traffic we share the road

with in the best possible light

and the best possible, um, consistency when it comes to

actually maintaining those services.

As you can tell just by the brief description of each one,

when they are separate, they are great,

but when they are combined,

they really offer a comprehensive

and holistic way of managing fleet services.

What that means for our customers,

the biggest thing is reducing risk meeting regulations

and making sure that safety is top priority.

This happens with strong compliance solutions,

as we mentioned above, having a multifaceted way

of interacting with your fleet data

and making sure that nothing is missed when it comes

to making sure you are compliant with all of the regulations

and keeping your drivers and assets, um, up to date

and and compliant.

We also streamline everything we can.

So that is everything to do with fleet operations.

We improve efficiency in every aspect of what we touch,

and we also have a stellar group of subject matter experts

behind the scenes, always assisting our customers

and making sure that these processes are cohesive

with the operations of the carriers that we work with.

We optimize routes, we lower expenses,

we improve driver safety.

We have an optimal way of handling anything you can think

of when it comes to the fleet management side

of your company.

But what we are talking about today, the challenge

is conflicting rules.

And anyone who has interacted with

or managed fleet operations know

that there are several elements of doing so

that do sometimes conflict.

They sometimes have le potential legal ramifications.

They sometimes are just causing confusion when it comes to

how to actually manage your operation.

And one of the primary ones that we think was a very unique

and topical subject for today’s meeting

was the state laws versus the federal regulations when it

comes to specifically cannabis and cannabinoid products

and how that is such a great example of

how things can sometimes conflict and cause that confusion.

So what we’ll really be focusing on is the specific

regulations and opinions of that particular topic,

but also focusing on the macro problem

as you can see in front of you, which is how do we deal with

potentially conflicting laws

and ever changing regulations

that might not be completely in sync with each other

as time progresses?

To put that into a visual, right now, 23 states allow adults

to use marijuana re recreationally,

39 states permit medical marijuana with a prescription.

Now, not only does that separation

and that differential potentially cause some

of these complications in management,

but it also is pointing out

and reinforcing the facts that there are 50 states.

What that means is 50 different ways of notating

and potentially enforcing these laws.

Now, what we’re gonna get into

and what I think the central theme that Lori

and I will really be gravitating around is that federal

regulations always take precedent over state regulations

when it comes to fleet management and the F-M-C-S-A.

So we will get into a lot of those

specifics when it comes to state law,

but it is important to recognize

that the federal regulations are the ones that need

to be followed until there is a potential change

that more closely reflects those policies

with those in the states.

On that note, you will notice that some states

also have a much closely, a much more closely related policy

to the federal regulations,

where some states might be a mile

and a half away from actually having that cohesiveness.

All right, with that, we do have a poll question,

so please take a moment to answer when able.

Alright, so the question is, have you received a Department

of Transportation positive test

for marijuana in the past 12 months?

The options are obviously different channels

or types of tests that you put,

you could have received this positive result

for A would be pre-employment,

B would be a DOT recordable accident,

C is reasonable cause D is a return

to duty or follow up test.

And then E is simply, no,

you haven’t had this issue within the last year.

So please just take a couple moments to answer this

and we will be able to c how the trend relates

to our audience.

All right, so we have about half of the people

that have submitted a feedback here.

We’ll give it another 10 or so seconds.

All right, so moving forward here, we can see the results

with a overwhelming majority saying no,

which is overall, I think a good thing.

The obvious offender is pre-employment with a spattering

of DOT recordable, reasonable cause

and return to duty or follow up tests.

So we can obviously see that the trends

that we see at on the fleet where the operational level

does certainly follow the trend we are seeing here.

Pre-employment is by our records,

the greatest defender when it comes

to receiving positive tests for specifically marijuana.

I’m really excited that half the people haven’t

had any positives.

Yes, that is terrific,

and we can only hope that the, the,

the global trend remains, uh, consistent with that.

So thank you all for participating.

Um, I hope that helps shed a little bit light in terms of,

um, how we are seeing these results come back and,

and how we are able to get a feel for

where we’re going in the future.

So with that, um, I can go ahead

and pass it off to Lori for the next few slides here.

Yes, absolutely. And I’m, I’m jealous of all you people

that never had any positive DOT tests.

I mean, when I was A DER, I had many of them.

So, um, it’s kind of exciting that you’re not having to deal

with, um, some of these issues.

Um, at the end of the day today,

marijuana remains classified

as a schedule one substance under federal law.

I know there’s been a lot of discussion

and HHS, um, last administration made some recommendations

that it moved to a schedule three.

Um, it has not happened.

So what we need to keep in mind is

that marijuana still remains illegal on a federal level.

Um, it’s still in the DOT panel under part 40

where it lists the drugs that’s not changed.

So today, um, the drivers are all under the same rules

as they were, even if it’s, you know, it might be

the drivers in Colorado where I live,

and, you know, it’s definitely legal, um, state level,

but it is still a,

a schedule one substance under the regulations.

Um, even if it does get moved though, one thing

that people aren’t maybe aware

of is there has been discussion in the last administration.

They came out and said that even if it moves

to schedule three, they may choose to leave it in in the,

in the, uh, testing panel that DOT tests for.

Um, some of that reason is, you know,

you’re still in a safety sensitive position

and, you know, there could be issues with allowing drivers

to be on marijuana.

So that whole conversation, um, still has to be had

and a lot of things have to be worked out.

And one thing to remember is the regulations exist

to make sure that everyone is safe, right?

The whole goal of DOT is to make sure that all the drivers

and the motoring public,

that they return home safely at night,

that there aren’t any issues.

Um, so we have to have that balance discussion now that

marijuana is becoming more accepted nationwide, um, does

that make it okay

for someone in a safety sensitive position to partake?

Um, you know, there’s a lot of discussion on both sides.

I try to think of it as if I’m on the road

with a driver next to me, um, or on a plane

and the pilot’s taking me across the country, is

that something I want to be aware of?

Um, has this driver partaken of marijuana in a period

of time where they could either be impaired or intoxicated

and to add to the, you know, the disconnect

and to the conversation,

we don’t have something like we have for alcohol

to determine whether there is a, um,

an impairment level.

Um, a lot of people want to equate marijuana with alcohol,

can’t really do that

because alcohol typically, you know, depending on

how much someone’s had in their body type,

it’s typically out of their system within about eight hours.

Um, when marijuana, that might not be the case.

It could take three days or more, depending on use

and body type for them to lose the effects of

that, that drug.

Um, and we have that discussion

of impairment versus intoxication.

Um, studies have shown

that while a person might not feel intoxicated anymore,

they may still have some cognitive impairment

and maybe not making the best decisions in the heat

of the moment and going back to our driver on the road

or our pilot in the air, um, if they’re having

to make a quick decision

because something changed, um, we really want them

to have good cognitive abilities

and be able to make those decisions

in the heat of the moment.

So, you know, it’s, it’s a complicated discussion as, um,

you know, Nick alluded to at the beginning, there’s

so many facets of this

and we have to have a balanced discussion about

what really makes sense.

And as far as failed tests, you know, a lot

of you haven’t had any, which is great.

Um, when I was a DER

and right in motor carriers,

we definitely had our fair share.

And as marijuana use went up, we saw, you know, as the,

the laws changed and they changed rapidly, um, you know,

we saw more usage

and then we did have a few more positives

than we had in the past.

So it’s really important

that you make sure your drivers are aware

that DOT does have a zero tolerance policy right now,

and it is, you know, as we said, it’s a schedule one drug,

they can’t partake

and be in a commercial motor vehicle, so they need

to be aware of that, even if their state allows it.

Um, that doesn’t mean that they can partake.

And then also, we haven’t really talked about this yet,

but, um, CBD similar situation, right?

And that even adds to more confusion.

Um, I know some of the drivers where I had them call me

and say, well, I tested positive,

but I don’t know how I can, I only use CBD

for my aches and pains, right?

Well, the problem with that is

CBD is not a regulated industry.

So it could be

that there’s more in there than the label says.

If they’re long-term users, it can build up in their system.

Um, and now they’ve got a positive test, and guess what?

They have to go through the same process

that anybody else has to go through.

So it really makes for frustration

and some issues, you know, when you’re trying to explain

to your drivers, I’m sorry,

but you know, we have to take you out of the truck

and we have to go through this process.

So here’s our next poll question.

Um, have you experienced operational challenges

due to marijuana use?

So probably have

of our people haven’t since they haven’t had the positive

tests, but for those of you that have, um,

have you had to relieve a driver from a route

or have you had to adjust routes or terminate a driver?

Um, I know I personally have experienced all of these,

so curious to see what everybody else has experienced.

So it looks like we have a lot of no tolerance folks here.

Um, two thirds of you have terminated a driver due to, um,

a positive marijuana test.

So, um, you know, looking at some operational challenges,

I definitely had my fair share of these when I was in the,

in your seat.

Um, we’d get a call that a driver,

he took a random test two days ago

and now he’s got a positive test.

So now we have to scramble.

Um, you’re trying to get the green beans

and ketchup to the customer so that they have food

for dinner tonight, and now you’ve got deal

with what do I do?

Um, your driver, if he’s in town,

it might be a minor inconvenience if he’s hundreds

of miles away, it can be a real chore to try

to get another driver there to relieve them.

Um, let them take the route

and finish, get that other driver home, um,

creates lots of issues.

Um, we’ve also had to, um,

reroute maybe if you don’t have a driver that can take over

that route when it goes next, um, you might have to,

um, a lot of you are terminating,

so we’ll talk about no tolerance policies in a minute,

but, you know, this can really create havoc.

And now that you, you’ve got a late truck,

you get the pleasure of calling your customers

and saying, Hey, I’m sorry, I know the driver’s supposed

to be there in a half hour.

It’s probably gonna be later. We’re doing the best we can.

Um, just really creates a lot of issues

and a lot of process changes when you have something like

this And

your driver retention, you know, that’s part of the process,

um, personal experience.

Um, you have those positives

and you get those, um, issues that you have to deal with.

So, um, there’s some states you can’t

terminate on first defense.

So, um, you know, Minnesota’s one of ’em,

we had locations in Minnesota

and we had drivers that we were required

to put them through a program.

Um, there’s a handful of states that require that.

Um, other states, you know, they allow you to terminate,

but you have to decide from your company standpoint,

are you comfortable terminating that driver

and then going through the, the, you know,

the rehire process and trying to find another driver, um,

and taking the chance in six months you might have

that driver test positive

or do you wanna try to retain that driver, let them go

through the program and let them, um, you know,

stay on board and you’re,

you’re not retraining another driver in doing some of that.

But I know when we go through all these retention

and operational challenges,

that’s when Nick’s team gets involved, right, Nick?

So, you know, you can help ’em with all

of those testing criteria, right?

Absolutely. So we work very closely

with wonderful partners to make sure that not only are

the foundations of the drug

and alcohol services in place, but they are accurate

and they’re following the regulations as appropriate.

So that means setting up, uh, specific panels

for whatever job classification, uh,

requires those panels to be set up for.

It’s making sure that we work very closely

with the administrators

and managers directly from the motor carrier

to manage those drivers

and make sure that tests are scheduled on time,

that they are accurate, that we, um, provide the most

efficient and expedited results of those tests that we can.

And again, we have a, a wonderful support system of partners

that we work very closely with to ensure that we are

as timely and as, uh, serviceable to the needs

of the motor carrier as, as we possibly can be.

Absolutely. And you know, those return

to duty processes can be long and drawn out.

I mean, I know I’ve had everywhere from one year

to five years, and it’s a hassle to try

to keep track of all of that.

So I know I appreciated, you know, you guys being able

to do that schedule

and help keep track of all those follow up tests

’cause it is a chore to, to make sure they’re done on time.

Mm-hmm. So

where do motor carriers go from here?

Right? I mean, you’ve got a lot to think about.

You’ve got the conflicting regulations,

you’ve got the DOT versus the non DOT drivers, right?

Um, DOT is only for CDL drivers,

but do you wanna test your non CDL drivers?

Um, you can, but you know, you have

to check every state you’re in

and make sure that your policies are consistent.

Um, make sure that you have good robust policies

and that you follow them, right?

Um, it’s almost worse to have a policy

and not follow it than not have a policy

because in litigation that’ll really come back to you

and they’ll say, well, you have this policy,

why didn’t you follow it?

Um, making sure that your drivers,

as we said, they’re educated.

Um, I recommend that you walk the driver through the policy

in, in orientation.

Um, I don’t know any driver that wants to run home

and read an 18 page DOT policy.

Um, and unfortunately they end up being that long

to cover all the things that you have to cover.

So, um, make sure that they’re aware of it

and they can’t say they didn’t know that there’s a risk

of CVD that, you know, marijuana is illegal.

Um, and making sure that you’re, you’re doing that

and then exploring those testing methods.

Um, today the only option for DOT is urine.

Um, HHS hasn’t approved those two labs yet, so we can’t go

to oral fluid, which can create some,

some tension in states like California

where you can only test on the parent drug.

You can’t test on the metabolites,

but, um, hopefully soon they’ll get those labs approved

and then, you know, people can do what they need to do.

But there’s the push for hair testing in some industries.

Um, problem with that is you’re gonna see your positivity

rate go up even more

because it does stay in the hair longer.

And, um, you know, I understand why some industries want

to do that, but um,

it also can cause a little bit more issues in hiring.

And then in retention urine, that’s the middle

of the road, as we all know.

It’ll stay in that, that metabolite for, you know, anywhere

of two weeks or so, sometimes more depending on use.

Um, and it is the metabolite.

So you do have the issue in California, but

because DOT does overrule state right now,

they can test for urine.

Your only gray area is can I take personnel action or not?

And that’s when you need to get legal counsel involved on

that and determine your risk rewards on

what action you’re going to take.

And then oral fluid, um, that’s obviously an indicator

of more recent use.

It’s only testing the parent drug, so

that makes it a good choice.

Um, but I do know

that it can increase your positivity rate in the short term

because it’s a whole lot harder

to cheat on an oral fluid test than it is in a,

in a urine test.

Um, I know I’ve experienced situations where drivers tried

to cheat on a urine test

and thankfully most of them got caught.

Um, but with oral fluid it’s an observed test, so, you know,

there’s really no cheating on that one.

Um, so as you look at your policies

and once oral fluid becomes available, you may need

to update your policy, um,

and make sure that you are referencing the types of tests

or the situations you want, whether that’s urine

for pre-employment and oral fluid for post accident,

however you want to frame that program, make sure

that you do it in a way that um, it’s defensible

and you can consistently follow it.

And then, um, last

and definitely not least, make sure

that you have good safety

and compliance systems and partners.

And Nick, I’ll let you talk to that.

Um, you’re, you’re involved in this

all the time with clients.

Yeah, absolutely. And I can really speak to the efficiency

and, and, uh, comprehensiveness

that our CP suite system has to offer.

It has customizable data tiles, it has that,

that our exportable, uh, where all of the data

that you want is at your fingertips

and completely able to manipulate for your own numbers,

but it also keeps a reliable data track for drivers in terms

of documents, um, where we can customize expiration dates.

Uh, so we always stay on top of ordering, you know,

documents in a timely way.

So you’re within regulation specifically

to the drug testing component.

Uh, we, you know, every result is posted

directly into the driver profile,

which gives you next level visibility into

not only the timeliness

of seeing when the result is available,

but also just being able to actually, um, observe

and take notes in a, in a greater sense

of operation when it comes to

what those documents actually result in.

And then in turn for the motor carrier,

the real benefit is you can make more confident decisions

and you can make more confident policies that reflect

not only the trend of where your drivers are,

but the regulations that we adhere to.

Exactly. Alright,

and so our next poll question is,

would you like our sales team to reach out

and provide more information on any of our services?

So we have the safety

and compliance, the toll the way station.

Um, if you wanna, um, explore more than one

of these options, just click on one of them

and the person that reaches out to you,

we’ll help you navigate that

and determine where it makes sense to start best

with what your needs are.

And then if you want the white paper,

I know Emily said it would be available for download,

and then also we have the QR code here if you want

to scan and get it that way.

And Emily, I think we’re ready to see what kind

of fun questions that the audience has for us.

Yes, absolutely.

Uh, thank you again to Lori

and Nick for your insight on this discussion.

I know it’s very helpful for our audience

and yes, I’m not surprised,

but we’ve got these questions coming in, so get ready.

Um, I’ll try to kind of go in order,

but I I might skip around a little bit.

Uh, we’ll, we’ll just see.

We’ve, we’ve got some interesting ones.

Um, I’ll start off with this one is testing only

for CDL drivers or can I test my non CDL drivers as well?

Um, DOT testing is only for your CDL drivers

when they’re operating a CDL vehicle.

So if you’re gonna hire a CDL driver, you need

to do pre-employment DOT testing if you choose to do testing

for a non DOT driver.

So a non CDL driver, I mean, um, you can do

that if you have a non DOT policy

and you know that what your state allows you to do.

So some states limit what you can

and can’t do in a non DOT situation.

So it’s definitely something that you want

to seek out legal counsel

and make sure that all your regulations,

you are not going against anything the state allows

or disallows.

Excellent. Thank you Laurie. Um,

I’ll move on to the next one.

Does DOT always overrule state laws

As far as testing?

Yes. Now, as I alluded to in California,

there’s some gray areas with what you know,

because you’re testing urine, um, you may

or may not be able to take action,

but if it’s a DOT regulated DRI CDL driver, then yes,

the DOT testing would take precedent over the state.

Excellent. Um, I’ll hop on to this question.

Does CBD carry the same penalty as THC?

Unfortunately, yes.

So there is no valid medical reason to have

that in your system,

and since it’s not regulated, um,

it can build up in your system.

And as we said, that label may not be reality.

If it says 0.0%, it could be more.

And if it builds up in your system

and you get that positive, you have to go this

through the same return to duty process as any other drug.

Yikes. Well that’s good to know. Yeah.

All right, let’s move on to the next question.

How do hair, urine,

and oral fluid test differ on results for THC use?

And we alluded to that a little bit earlier,

but just to, to re remind everybody, um,

the hair keeps it the longest.

So, you know, there are some industries

that wanna do hair testing

and they’re pushing to make that accepted by DOT,

which it is not currently.

Um, there’s been some action to let,

let it be allowed in DOT, but right now it’s not.

Um, urine typically a couple weeks it’ll stay in there

and then oral fluid is the least, it’s the best indicator

of recent usage.

So it’s typically one to three days depending on the person.

Got it. Um,

and then speaking of testing, let’s kind

of follow up with this question.

What is the California metabolite

issue you were referencing?

Okay, so California, about a year ago,

and I can’t remember the number,

it’s like AB 2155 or something.

It’s a new law that they enacted saying

that you could not take personnel action on a drug

that tests for the metabolites of the drug, which is

what urine testing does.

And in the regulations it says it’s testing

for the metabolites.

And I don’t know all the science lingo and all of that.

I just know that, um, urine test does the metabolites

where oral fluid only tests

for the parent delta nine parent drug.

And so, um,

you can take personnel action if you’re only doing

a test on the parent drug,

but unfortunately urine test metabolites.

And so that makes it, that gray area I talked about

with DOT testing.

Um, you’re getting a positive result on metabolite,

but the loss, you can’t take personnel actions.

So that’s that gray area of de of federal conflicting

with state and how do you resolve that, so,

Got it.

All right, let’s move on to the next question.

I think this is a good one too. If your company policy

for CDL drivers explicitly states

that you have a zero tolerance policy

for positive marijuana tests,

can you still terminate in the states

where it is still legal?

Yes. If that’s what your policy is

and that’s what you do, then you can do that.

You just to make sure that you always do it

and you don’t play favorites.

Now again, as they said, subject to the state law,

’cause there are at least a couple states

that say you cannot turn on first offense,

Minnesota being one of them.

Excellent. All right. Lots of, uh,

questions coming in about drug testing, Lori.

So I guess some of these, most

of these are probably gonna be geared towards you.

Um, but let’s move on to this question.

What happens when the driver is the victim

of a laboratory error

and is marked with a violation, same day,

negative DOT drug test three test hair negative

by a police forensic specialist

and the F-M-C-S-A doesn’t remove the violation?

Um, first of all, hair testing’s not allowed by DOT, so

that test wouldn’t be a valid DOT test.

You would go with the urine test.

So I’m not sure totally what

that one’s leading to.

Well, I think too, like

what happens if somebody’s a victim

of a laboratory err in general,

like is there something else you can speak to that

Yeah, there’s an appeal process.

I don’t have every step memorized, haven’t done it

for a while, but there definitely is an appeal

process they could go through.

Got it. All right, let’s move on

to the next question.

Any tips on finding SAP people to send drivers to?

Yes. Um, we, we refer them to our EAP program

and they help them find a counselor.

There’s also just SAP list.com you can go

to find someone in your area,

but usually we refer ’em to our EAP program

and then they would help them.

Yep. And, and if I could just add a little bit to that,

um, the, the fleet worthy, uh,

services process is Lori mentioned, the SAP list, uh,

website, that is traditionally what we offer.

And then we have also recommendations from that list, uh,

depending on region

or depending on preference of the clinic.

Um, you know, we can, that that’s part of this, um,

the walkthrough service that we provide when a positive test

is recorded and when a driver does have to select a program,

um, we really try to help the motor carrier

streamline that as much as possible.

Mm-hmm.

Got it. Very helpful. Thank you, Nick.

All right, let’s move on to the next question.

What about DOT 3 82 0.119?

The stand down rule?

What steps do I take in post accident testing

to ensure my driver is not continuing

to drive while awaiting test results?

Well, I don’t know that r off the top of my head.

Um, I would tell you there is not a requirement that you

keep your driver out

of the truck while you’re awaiting the post-accident tests.

Now some people choose to do that,

but um, I know in the companies I was, were was in,

they were large companies

and we couldn’t have everybody waiting

for a post-accident test be out of a truck

or even in the warehouse, right?

The non DOT tests, we didn’t keep them off the floor

until that test came back.

Unless you have that reasonable cause thought

that there was impairment was a factor in the accident,

then we would keep them out of the truck.

But mm-hmm there’s not a requirement to keep them out

of the truck waiting test results.

Interesting. Good to know.

Alright, we’ve got another question, Lori.

Um, seems our audience has a lot of questions

with the testing in California, so I know you kind

of touched on that, um, with the previous audience question,

but I’m gonna ask this one

and maybe you can kind of of help like reiterate.

Um, but this question is, with that issue

with testing in California, does that only apply

to companies and drivers who live in California

or does it apply to anyone tested in California?

I’m not 100% sure on the California law,

but typically testing is based on the state of residence.

So I would say probably California residents,

but again, I don’t know every single little piece of

that law to know if it’s somebody passing through,

my guess is it’s residence.

Got it. Yep. Yeah, me

and Laura, we talked about this earlier.

Um, maybe that might be like a seek legal

counsel Yeah, exactly.

Type of situation.

Definitely. Yeah, Lori’s here to advise as much

as she can, but there are some things where, you know,

Legal, I cannot provide legal advice.

Yeah. All right, let’s move on

to the next question.

Uh, this is okay, this is a good one.

Um, seems much

of the younger CBL driver generation is deciding

to abstain from alcohol as they tend to prefer cannabis

among other alternatives to booze, alcohol, et cetera.

Curious how the DOT

and other regulators are addressing this aspect?

Well, currently marijuana is still illegal,

so they’re not changing their minds on that in large

because of the safety sensitive nature of driving.

So, um,

time will tell if a new administration has a different

philosophy, but right now it’s not been downgraded

and it remains illegal, so

Mm-hmm.

I, I think it it is related to, uh, kind of catchall to

where if a substance alters the ability

to potentially operate machinery of that magnitude, um,

you know, it, it’s better safe than sorry.

At least that’s kind of the, um, the, the feeling

of the current regulations on a, on a federal level.

Yeah, you’ve got that safety sensitive thing to deal

with, so, mm-hmm.

Absolutely. All right, let’s move on

to the next question.

Are CDL drivers with a valid medical

marijuana card still subject to these regulatory guidelines?

Absolutely. Medical card is not a prescription, it is not

in the current world with the current regulations.

There’s no valid reason to have me marijuana in your system.

So medical card doesn’t matter for a DOT test. Mm-hmm.

That’s good to know. I think we’ve

pretty much covered all

of these questions that come through.

I do have a couple more minutes guys,

if y’all have some more questions that you wanna submit,

but if no other questions come through, Nick, Laurie,

do y’all have any other comments that you, um, wanna say

or Nick, I know we didn’t really get to get too many

questions for you, but, um,

anything you wanna comment while we’re waiting on maybe a

few more questions to come through?

Sure, yeah, I just wanna reinforce, uh, you know, what

the fleet worthy suite of services can provide.

But also I also, you know, just to, to echo

what Lori has been saying

and what we’ve been kind of tangibly approaching here is

that it is critically important that whatever you

as the motor carrier have as your internal policies,

as the way of operating

and managing your fleets that kind of like the one

of the last slides mentioned, you really need to make sure

that you are aware

and that your drivers are being properly trained to be aware

of these differences of what the impact of some

of these gray areas between state

and federal regulations can mean

because it is just, especially for larger fleets,

it is one misstep

and that can have cascading effects depending on, you know,

the severity or the consequences of, of the occurrence.

So just make sure, uh, everybody out there,

make sure your policies are up to date.

Make sure you, you are very aware of regulations

where your drivers are domiciled or residents

and with how that corresponds to the federal regulation, um,

I would very much advise that you stay up to date

with any F-M-C-S-A updates

because no pun intended, this is kind of a fluid,

uh, situation.

Um, you know, we all know how quickly

and how drastically regulations can change sometimes

and it’s very important to be on top of that

and of course to match make with a, uh,

proper compliance platform

and manage services to further ensure

that you are indeed going beyond compliant.

So, mm-hmm. That would be my,

my closing comments if you will.

Yeah, absolutely. Thank you Nick.

We do have a couple more questions that are coming through.

I think we’ve got time to answer these.

Um, so I’m gonna start with this one again, it’s kind

of touching around the testing questions

and like more so like y’all’s opinions on

what we think the future will look like.

Um, but this question is, have any of you heard

of any movement behind the scenes about changing laws

to allow THC use by CBO drivers when not driving?

Well I think that touches on the intoxication versus

impairment situation.

I mean, if they’re using on the weekend

and then come to work on Monday,

are they still impaired or not?

So currently the system says if you have enough in

your system to pop positive on a test,

it doesn’t matter when you, when you partook, if you’re

meeting that minimum level to have a positive test,

then you’re gonna have to go through those hoops

to get back in your truck.

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Alright, let’s follow up again with another, uh, question

with the medical marijuana card.

Mm-hmm. So does that mean that a driver

with a medical marijuana card, like for cancer,

cannot drive a truck since they would test positive?

My opinion, it would be questionable.

Um, definitely when they get their um,

medical card from a DOT doctor, they need to mention that

’cause it could disqualify them.

Um, and they also need to be aware that if they’re,

depending on how much they’re taking

and when they’re taking it,

if they have enough in their system

that a test would pop positive,

then yeah it would disqualify them.

So I think it’s something they need to discuss

with their medical doctor, their DOT doctor

and get everyone on the same page

because again, you’ve still got that, um,

intoxication impairment situation if they’re habitual users

of it and I understand the medical part of it,

but it could be disqualifying.

Yeah, good to know.

All right, um, I think we’ve got our last question

and this is kind of like a two part, um,

so it’s a little bit long, so bear with me

and if I need to repeat anything, you’ll just let me know.

If my crew drive a CMV up

to 26 KGVW non

CDL one,

the F-M-C-S-A is into effect even though it is legal

up to five nanograms in Washington state.

And then part two of that,

however, with the U-S-A-D-O-T number on the truck,

we must follow F-M-C-S-A at zero

compliance regardless.

So the DOT regulations are only

for trucks over 26,000 pounds

and a CDL driver.

So you’re not going to be subject to the DOT drug

and alcohol testing at those situations.

You would be subject to your company policy

and your state laws

and I don’t know every state law, so, um,

sounds like they’re in Washington

and I know they’re like California.

They have some one-off rules that I’m not necessarily aware

with, but the main thing is you’re under 26,000 pounds,

you’re not a CDL driver, you’re not a CDL vehicle.

So it’s not, um, gonna apply.

Excellent. Yep. And, and Lori,

that’s actually a great point

and I was, I just thought of that

as potentially another thing to close out here.

Um, we would be remiss to say that, you know, the state,

some of this in context might sound like the state

regulations are just worthless.

Don’t worry about it. But that is not the case

if they are a non CDL

and not applicable to the DOT regulations.

That is something to where Lori just mentioned.

It is about company policy

and it’s about the state regulations.

We alluded to earlier in the slideshow

that 50 states means 50 different ways

of notating or interpreting these different laws.

And it’s very important

that everybody stay brushed up on the states

that are relevant to your operation, especially for drivers

that might just drive a pickup

or might just drive a company car

or anything below that 26,000 pounds.

So something very important to keep in mind.

Yeah, that’s a great point Nick.

And I know I live in Colorado,

they define a commercial motor vehicle at 16,000 pounds.

Now you don’t need a CDL to 26,

but even California 10,000 some regulations kick in.

So it’s really important to understand your states

and some of them have their own drug

and alcohol regulations, so you really have

to know those state laws.

So thank you for bringing that up.

No, thank you. Yeah, absolutely.

A lot to navigate and I wish we had more time,

but unfortunately we are running out of time.

Maybe we should do like a part two it seems like

because, um, again, it’s, it can be challenging a lot

of gray area, not so black and white.

So, um, again, we really appreciate, um, Nick

and LaRay, y’all coming on here and giving your expertise.

As we mentioned, um,

we do have the white paper available via that QR code.

Um, and then it’s also on your webinar con console if y’all

want to download that and just kind

of get a little bit more information on the findings, um,

regarding this topic.

And then there’s also a few other resources

that we included in the webinar console

that are just different, um, white papers

that you can access, um, that might be helpful for you.

So with that, I’m gonna go ahead

and wrap things up here.

So again, just a big thank you, um, to Nick

and Lori for sharing your insights with us today.

I know this was a very, very helpful session, um,

for our audience members in navigating

this tricky landscape.

So thank you again, um, for your insights.

And as a reminder, the recording of this webinar

will be sent to, um,

our viewers here via the email used to register with.

So if you need a copy, that’s where you can find it

and we hope you will join us again

for our next freights webinar.

And with that we’ll go ahead and conclude

and thank you everyone for your time.

Thank you.