newsUpdates

September 2004



MCSA Fines School Bus Contractors,
Drivers for Drug & Alcohol Testing Violations

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has fined eight school bus contractors and three school bus drivers in Harrisburg, Pa., after a series of investigations conducted in May determined that they were in violation of federal drug and alcohol safety regulations.

FMCSA takes seriously its responsibility to protect the safety of school bus riders, Patrick Quigley, FMCSA Pennsylvania Division administrator, said. Were talking about keeping kids safe.

Quigley said FMCSA wont be satisfied with anything less than 100 percent compliance with federal safety regulations from the school bus transportation community. This is our third consecutive year for this, he noted. We run it every spring.

Professional transportation associations have been helping get the word out about the need to comply, and compliance has improved, Quigley said.

FMCSA completed 70 compliance reviews on bus contractors and school districts during its investigations, examining closely their drug and alcohol testing programs and adherence to federal safety regulations, he reported. Most of the carriers investigated were found to be in compliance with the drug and alcohol provisions.

FMCSA noted that motor carriers are required to conduct random controlled substance testing at an annual rate of 50 percent and random alcohol testing at an annual rate of 10 percent of the average number of driver positions. The agency reported the following bus contractors were fined for either failing to conduct random controlled substance or alcohol testing or for using drivers in violation of federal drug and alcohol safety regulations:
Fines:

In addition, FMCSA reports three drivers were found to have violated the drug and alcohol regulations and were fined $1,750 each.
The contractors and drivers who were fined were given the opportunity to contest the alleged violations and the amount of the penalties in an agency proceeding.

August A Dangerous Month For Drivers

Here Northern California, more alcohol-related accidents happen in August,
with seasonal parties escalating the costly, deadly toll.

Just as we’re savoring the last weeks of summer, word comes that August is the most dangerous month in California for drinking and driving. More people here are killed and injured in alcohol-related collisions during August than any other month, according to an analysis by the Automobile Club of Southern California. Talk about putting a damper on your backyard wine party or barbecue beer bash.

Why August?

That’s when many of us are on vacation, enjoying recreational activities and consuming lots of alcohol and/or drugs, said Steven Bloch, the senior Auto Club researcher who did the analysis. From the Hollywood Bowl to Dodger games to picnics in the mountains, alcohol is often part of our summer pastimes. Unfortunately, when the music stops and the games are over, tipsy fans, picnickers and partygoers often slide behind the wheels of their vehicles.

In the Augusts from 1999 to 2003, 618 people were killed and 13,853 were injured statewide in alcohol-related collisions, according to Bloch’s analysis of state and federal data. July had the second-highest number of such casualties, with 624 fatalities and 13,732 injuries, according to the analysis, which included passenger vehicles, SUVs and motorcycles. February had the lowest number of deaths and injuries, with 456 fatalities and 11,293 injuries during the five-year period.

Though California Highway Patrol spokesman Tom Marshall said it sounds reasonable that more people drink and drive during the summer, he said the CHP has found that New Year’s weekend, the Fourth of July, Super Bowl weekend and even Halloween and St. Patrick’s Day are also notorious for high rates of alcohol-related accidents.

What is troubling to Marshall and the CHP is the fact that the number of alcohol-related deaths and injuries is on the rise in California, despite strict laws and increased education. “It’s been 25 years since efforts began to educate and tighten laws on drinking and driving,” Marshall said. The number of deaths and injuries initially went down. Then the numbers leveled off in the 1990s. Now they are inching back up again.

“It’s because there’s a new generation out there that hasn’t heard the message or just doesn’t care,” he said. In fact, young drivers are “least responsive” to arguments against drunk driving, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Of the 4,215 vehicle fatalities in 2003 in California, 1,626 or 39% of them were alcohol related, according to NHTSA statistics.

But alcohol is not the only culprit in many of these accidents, said CHP Sgt. Helena Williams, California statewide coordinator of the Drug Recognition Evaluator program.

Illicit drugs, as well as prescription drugs, have always been a factor in impaired driving, she said. (In 1993 research, the traffic safety administration found that 45% of collisions involved alcohol and marijuana.) But now CHP officers and other law enforcement personnel are being trained by the Drug Recognition Evaluator program to recognize the symptoms of drug use and how it impairs driving.

The CHP lumps together stats on drug- and alcohol-related collisions. But anecdotally, Williams says they are seeing an increase in the involvement of drugs, especially prescription drugs in combination with alcohol, marijuana or stimulants, including cocaine. If convicted of a first-time DUI offense in California, you can expect to face a minimum total cost of $12,116, according to the automobile club. That includes minimum attorney and legal fees of $2,500; minimum fines of $468; penalties, $780; vehicle towing and impounding, $187; alcohol education class, $500; a minimum of $7,300 in increased auto insurance premiums over the subsequent seven-year period; $100 for the state’s victim restitution fund; and a $125 DMV license reissue fee, in addition to a $156 fee for booking, fingerprinting and photos.

 

Note that throughout this article, when I refer to the applicable federal regulations, I’m referring to CFR 49, Parts 40 & 382; these regulations can be found in Section 5 of the AADT Company Compliance Manual or in the AADT website at www.aadrugtesing.com under links at DOT Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance at www.dot.gov/ost/dapc or Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration at www.fmcsa.dot.gov.