Feds Target Impaired Truck, Bus Drivers

Summer is when thousands of vacationing Hawaiians and tourists are likely to share highway space with truck and bus drivers. The federal administration recently launched a crackdown on truck and bus drivers driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs. The annual crackdown lasted between April 30 and May 11. Hundreds of truck and bus driver were pulled over, and their safety records analyzed.

The massive sweep involved the participation of nearly 200 federal investigators, who analyzed alcohol and drug testing records of bus and truck companies. At the end of the crackdown, more than 287 commercial truck and bus drivers were ordered off the streets. These drivers, who were cited by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, are likely to lose their license to operate a commercial motor vehicle because of their failure to comply with federal regulations.

Approximately 128 companies now face the possibility of enforcement actions by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration because of their negligent hiring practices. These companies were found to have neglected federal regulations that require random alcohol testing for truck and bus drivers and other regulations. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration mandates that truck and bus companies test employees for drug and alcohol use at the time of employment, and also conduct frequent random drug and alcohol testing in order to identify intoxication or drug abuse.

With so much attention on driver work hours, and fatigued driving, we tend to lose sight of the dangers that impaired truck and bus drivers pose on Hawaii’s highways. Those dangers simply increase during the summer months, when truck and bus drivers compete for space with vacationing families, and tourists.