JANUARY 9, 2020 – The FMCSA has announced that they’ve doubled the random drug and alcohol testing rate for 2020. Starting on January 1, the new minimum random controlled substances testing rate for commercial motor vehicles is 50 percent. For the past three years, it’s been 25 percent.
Related Article: December 2019 Significant Rulemaking Report
According to a Notice of Program Change that was published in the Federal Register on December 27, the decision to raise the DOT random testing rate for CMV drivers was based on the results of the 2018 FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Testing Survey. Per agency policy, if the random positivity rate is equal or greater than 1.0 percent for any given year, the random rate will be doubled for the next calendar year. The random positivity rate in 2018 was 1.0 percent.
Because more drivers will need to be tested, the FMCSA estimates that this change will result in an estimated increase of $50-70 million dollars to the industry in 2020. The random alcohol testing rate will remain unchanged at 10 percent.
If you’d like to read the Federal Register notice, you’ll find it here: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2019-12-27/html/2019-28164.htm