AADT Year-end Wrap – New & Old Business
CA Tow Trucking Association Endorses AADT Adding to Their Member Discount Programs
During the Western States Tow Show in San Diego, October 9-11, principally hosted by the California Tow Truck Association (CTTA), it was announced that the CTTA formally endorsed American Alliance Drug Testing’s (AADT) drug and alcohol testing program.
Larry Muzamel the new Executive Director of CTTA, is transitioning that association into a membership services-driven organization and AADT’s drug program fits into this model for his members, as well as ours.
We look forward to a new year of growth and prosperity together. This endorsement will open many doors and opportunities into the towing industry throughout the state. It’s truly a win-win opportunity.
AADT Submits Endorsement Proposal to the State Bus Association
This year has been one of growth and expansion for American Alliance Drug Testing. We are on a path to break the 2007 enrollment record thanks to a great reputation, competitive pricing, unmatched services and our technology-focused database and marketing efforts. Along with the regular construction and freight trucking customer base, we have had a tremendous increase in out of state trucking, towing and bus owner clientele.
We hope to continue building a relationship with the bus industry. During our annual meeting, we sent an AADT endorsement proposal to the president of the California Bus Association (CBA). We hope we can come to an agreement that both parties find beneficial.
We are now proactively reaching-out to numerous commercial transportation associations nationwide that do not offer drug testing to their members and are proposing a competitive program that will fulfill this service need. We believe that 2014 will be an even better year for us.
Making the Final Push for Year-End Random Testing
With the 2013 year coming to a rapid end, we at AADT have to work very hard to ensure that all “random” selections for drug tests and breath alcohol testing (BAT) has been accurately sent out, reported and compiled before the end of the year to meet the 50 percent and 10 percent minimum testing requirements.
We continue to focus on those testing notices that clients have not responded to or pending tests results because the specimen collection was done incorrectly or there were errors on the chain of custody forms (CCF). Our industry is calling on the U. S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to adopt electronic CCFs which would go a long way to eliminating many of the problems and delays we experience today.
AADT as a Consortium/Third Part Administrator (C/TPA) offers a service to administer clients’ random test selections and notifications, assist with statistical reports and we also act as a record keeper. We have to abide by the same DOT regulations and we have to answer to the same enforcement agencies as our clients.
Non-response to a Random Test May Lead to a Failure to Test – Same as a Positive
Non-responses to random test selections can toss a wrench into the entire testing process. It seems some owner-operators lose sight of their responsibilities as a small business owner, who are also drivers to their own business. They are accountable for their actions and ultimately this responsibility does fall on them when it comes to program enrollment, deadlines and compliance issues.
One would think for the random occasions that a driver is selected to test throughout a calendar year, the non-compliance fine ramifications, potential loss of authority and even a “failure to test” which has the same consequences as a positive result, should be totally avoided. Make no mistake; a “failure to test” is a “positive” and requires an evaluation with a Substance Abuse Professional, counseling and a costly monitored follow-up testing program ranging in cost from $1,200 to $5,000 over the next 1 to 5 years.
In addition to this expense and burden, owner/drivers may be tagged with an “unsatisfactory” on their compliance review during an inspection. This may also carry numerous fines and even the loss of your operating authority all together. All of these repercussions far outweigh the loss of an hour or two of revenue to take a test throughout the year.
Companies Need to Report Employment Status Changes
Companies with employees are responsible for making sure to notify us of employees who are no longer with the company so our random database can select an active employee or an alternate company employee to test.
It is our policy that clients which have more than (1) non-response is subject to being locked out for any activity until we receive documentation for the reason behind the drivers non-response to the test notification. If there’s a continued history of non-responses, the account will be inactivated and ineligible for renewal. Non-response jeopardizes not only their compliance but the compliance of all clients in the testing pool by lowering the percentage of random selections completed within the calendar year.
The DOT guidance is clear on this issue; if a driver is terminated or legitimately not available for testing, our customer service representatives can via our software immediately select the next available driver in that company. This is totally consistent with the random selection process guidelines within the regulations. In order for our clients to be in compliance each year, the testing pool must have at least 50 percent tested for drugs and 10 percent tested for alcohol.
Managing your account with AADT through the online access (see www.aadrugtesting.com) is FREE, easy and available 24/7.
Please take advantage of it. If you have any questions or need help setting-up your account log-in online, call us, and we will happily walk you through it.
Call today at 800-820-9314.
