Georgia Truck Accident Lawyers Blog

Georgia injury lawyers who handle trucking cases know that depending on the circumstances of a tractor-trailer accident, a trucking company is required to have a driver tested for the presence of drugs and alcohol in his/her system. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has specific rules governing when these tests are required.

These regulations provide that a trucking company must perform a drug and alcohol test on a driver whenever he is involved in an automobile accident resulting in a fatality. Testing is also required when the investigating officer issues a citation to the driver involved in the accident and the accident causes bodily injury requiring immediate treatment away from the accident scene or the accident causes disabling damage to any motor vehicle which must be towed from the scene. Disabling damage does not include damage which can be remedied at the scene without special tools or parts, tire damage without any other damage, headlight or taillight damage, or damage to turn signals, horn or windshield wipers. The post-accident testing should occur as soon as practicable after the accident. A motor carrier’s cancellation of a scheduled post accident test is admissible as evidence tending to show that the carrier was trying to conceal the driver’s potential use of alcohol or controlled substances.

Recently, we represented the victim of a tractor-trailer accident in a serious injury case which involved this issue. The truck driver in that case was never tested as required. The trucking company simply told him to go get tested but never took him for the drug test. Accordingly, although they did not “cancel" a post accident drug test, they did nothing affirmative to make sure that he was tested. The regulations clearly put the onus of compliance on the trucking company.