Bipartisan Bill Would Mandate Hair Tests For Drivers

A bill that would allow employers to test the hair of truck drivers who are subject to Department of Transportation regulations has been introduced in both houses by Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) and Senator Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), and others. The protocol would be based on a drug test used by an Arkansas trucking company, which claims that by using the hair test over an approximately seven-year period it flunked 3200 applicants, while during the same period only 90 applicants failed to pass the urine test now mandated by federal regulations. Hair tests indicate the use of certain drugs, including meth and marijuana, in theory (depending on how long the subject’s hair is) going back years. The current standard test, using the first inch-and-half of growth, looks back three months.