OTA Dispatch Issue 1, 2019

35 www.ortrucking.org Issue 1 | 2019 Commercial Driver’s License Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse INTRODUCTION: The Clearinghouse is an online database that lists CDL drivers who operate CMV’s on public roads and who have committed drug and alcohol program violations. It’s intended to improve safety on our roads by making sure any driver in violation has taken necessary steps before getting behind the wheel again. USERS: Employers, FMCSA, State Driver Licensing Agencies, and state law enforcement can access the data. CDL drivers can also view their own records. IMPLEMENTATION: The final rule was published December 5, 2016. Users can create an account in fall of 2019 to prepare for the official implementation date on January 6, 2020. From that date forward, employers must report and query information about driver drug and alcohol program violations. This includes positive drug and alcohol test results, refusals, and Return-To-Duty (RTD) completion. Keep a lookout for updates and possible training in the Express Newsletter. For more information about the Clearinghouse, visit https://clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov . huge company or a single employee. It is the attitude that must be spread throughout every nook and cranny of an organization. Whether thousands of employees or one. A safety culture is developed by management and must be implemented by all. It is the safety manager’s responsibility to ensure that culture is evident, dynamic and continually moving in the right direction as directed from the top of the organization. Present and future safety professionals must be given the tools to be able to revitalize a sense of community and foster the attitude that safety is critical and attainable. Changing profound assumptions—both personal and organizational— can be a difficult process. It requires leaders and professionals at all levels—company, union and worker alike. Your safety professional is often the one at the helm of that responsibility. Encourage this individual in your company, open the door and resources and never underestimate the value the position holds. They are the keeper of the everchanging keys.  Jennifer King is a Workers’ Compensation Executive for WHA Insurance for the past 20 years and the current OTA Safety Management Council’s President.