General Knowledge: Alcohol And Drugs
15 questions in the bank cover this topic. Everything below is drawn from the sources those questions cite.
Sources: 49 CFR 382.107, 49 CFR 382.201, 49 CFR 382.207, 49 CFR 382.211, 49 CFR 382.301, 49 CFR 382.303, 49 CFR 382.305, 49 CFR 382.307
What you need to know
382.201 sets 0.04, half the usual 0.08 limit for car drivers.
The employer is equally bound: knowing a driver is at 0.04 or above, it may not permit them to continue.
No driver shall report for duty or remain on duty requiring the performance of safety-sensitive functions while having an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or greater.
49 CFR 382.201
382.207 sets four hours, matching the pre-duty window in 392.5.
Note this is a flat time rule, independent of whether any alcohol would still register on a test.
No driver shall perform safety-sensitive functions within four hours after using alcohol.
49 CFR 382.207
382.303(a)(1) requires testing whenever the accident involved loss of human life, with no citation needed.
The citation requirement in 382.303(a)(2) applies to the lesser categories of injury or disabling damage.
each employer shall test for alcohol for each of its surviving drivers: (1) Who was performing safety-sensitive functions with respect to the vehicle, if the accident involved the loss of human life
49 CFR 382.303
382.303(a)(2) uses 8 hours for alcohol testing.
The controlled substances trigger in 382.303(b)(2) is 32 hours, so the two windows differ and are easy to confuse. None of the figures offered is the one the rule gives.
Who receives a citation within 8 hours of the occurrence under State or local law for a moving traffic violation arising from the accident
49 CFR 382.303
382.303(b)(2) uses 32 hours, four times the 8-hour alcohol window, because drugs remain detectable far longer than alcohol.
Who receives a citation within thirty-two hours of the occurrence under State or local law for a moving traffic violation arising from the accident
49 CFR 382.303
382.303(d)(1) sets both: past two hours the employer must file a record saying why, and past eight hours they stop trying and file the same record.
The 32-hour figure belongs to the controlled substances test in (d)(2), which is the trap.
If a test required by this section is not administered within two hours following the accident, the employer shall prepare and maintain on file a record stating the reasons the test was not promptly administered. If a test required by this section is not administered within eight hours following the accident, the employer shall cease attempts to administer an alcohol test
49 CFR 382.303
382.303(e)(2) sets 32 hours, after which the employer stops and files a record of why it was not done.
None of the figures offered is the one the rule gives.
If a test required by this section is not administered within 32 hours following the accident, the employer shall cease attempts to administer a controlled substances test
49 CFR 382.303
382.303(e) treats unavailability as refusal.
The section expressly does not require delaying necessary medical attention, and a driver may leave to get help, so this targets avoidance rather than emergencies.
A driver who is subject to post-accident testing shall remain readily available for such testing or may be deemed by the employer to have refused to submit to testing.
49 CFR 382.303
382.211 prohibits refusal outright and bars the employer from permitting the driver to continue.
In practice a refusal is treated the same as a positive result. The employer may also not let the driver continue safety-sensitive functions.
No driver shall refuse to submit to a pre-employment controlled substance test required under § 382.301, a post-accident alcohol or controlled substance test required under § 382.303, a random alcohol or controlled substances test required under § 382.305, a reasonable suspicion alcohol or controlled substance test required under § 382.307
49 CFR 382.211
382.107 defines refusal broadly: leaving before the process is complete, failing to provide a specimen, failing to undergo a directed medical evaluation, and failing to cooperate.
Obstruction is refusal even if you never say the word. Refusing to empty pockets or disrupting the collection are the examples given.
Fail to cooperate with any part of the testing process (e.g., refuse to empty pockets when so directed by the collector, behave in a confrontational way that disrupts the collection process)
49 CFR 382.107
382.307(e)(2) gives two routes back: a test measuring less than 0.02, or 24 hours elapsed since the determination.
The time route exists because reasonable suspicion is an observation, not a measurement.
Twenty four hours have elapsed following the determination under paragraph (a) of this section that there is reasonable suspicion to believe that the driver has violated the prohibitions in this part concerning the use of alcohol.
49 CFR 382.307
382.305(b)(2) sets 50 percent for controlled substances against 10 percent for alcohol in 382.305(b)(1).
The Administrator can move both rates based on the industry violation rate. None of the figures offered is the one the rule gives.
the minimum annual percentage rate for random controlled substances testing shall be 50 percent of the average number of driver positions
49 CFR 382.305
382.305(b)(1) sets 10 percent, a fifth of the controlled substances rate.
The Administrator raises it if the industry violation rate reaches 0.5 percent.
the minimum annual percentage rate for random alcohol testing shall be 10 percent of the average number of driver positions
49 CFR 382.305
382.301 requires less than 0.04 before the employee may begin safety-sensitive functions again, alongside the other return-to-duty requirements.
It must not allow a covered employee to begin performing safety-sensitive functions unless the result of the employee's test indicates an alcohol concentration of less than 0.04.
49 CFR 382.301
382.201 binds the employer as well as the driver.
Knowledge of 0.04 or above means they must not let you perform or continue, so finishing the load is not an option.
No employer having knowledge that a driver has an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or greater shall permit the driver to perform or continue to perform safety-sensitive functions.
49 CFR 382.201
Check yourself
- What alcohol concentration disqualifies you from safety-sensitive functions?
- How long after using alcohol must you wait before performing safety-sensitive functions?
- After which kind of accident is post-accident alcohol testing required regardless of any citation?
- For a non-fatal accident, within what time must you receive a citation to trigger post-accident ALCOHOL testing?
- For a non-fatal accident, within what time must a citation be received to trigger post-accident CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES testing?
- What are the two deadlines for actually administering a post-accident alcohol test?
- What should you do if a post-accident test cannot be given in time?
- What is the consequence if a driver subject to post-accident testing becomes unavailable?
- What is the consequence of refusing a required test?
- What is counted as a refusal to test?
- After a reasonable suspicion determination for alcohol, when may you return to safety-sensitive functions without a test?
- The minimum annual random controlled substances testing rate is ______.
- The minimum annual random alcohol testing rate is ______.
- What result must a return-to-duty alcohol test show before you resumes safety-sensitive work?
- What must your employer do when they know you are at 0.04?
Answers are in the practice test for this topic.