§382.215 is the use-prohibition rule. A driver who has tested positive for a controlled substance, who has tested at 0.04 BAC or greater for alcohol, or who has refused a required test, may not perform any safety-sensitive function until the §382.503/§382.605 return-to-duty process has been completed. The carrier may not knowingly allow the driver to perform such functions.
Severity weight + disqualification
Severity weight 10 in the Controlled Substances & Alcohol BASIC — the maximum. §383.51(b)(2) imposes a 1-year CDL disqualification (3 years if the offense occurred while operating a CMV transporting hazardous materials requiring placards); a second offense is a lifetime disqualification.
Clearinghouse interaction
A §382.215 violation is a "prohibited" status in the FMCSA Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse. Carriers must query at hire (§382.701(a)) and annually (§382.701(b)); a "prohibited" return blocks safety-sensitive assignment until the SAP and return-to-duty process under §40 Subpart O completes.
How to prevent it
- Run §382.701(a) pre-employment full queries before any safety-sensitive assignment.
- Run §382.701(b) annual limited queries each calendar year, with driver consent on file.
- When a positive or refusal lands, remove the driver from all safety-sensitive functions in writing the same day — verbal removal is not enough.
- Coordinate the SAP referral immediately; the §40.281 referral list is non-negotiable.
How Roadworthy HQ helps
D&A test results are recorded on the driver's Drug & Alcohol tab by type (pre-employment, random, post-accident, reasonable suspicion, return-to-duty, follow-up), with the result document and chain-of-custody form uploaded alongside and the §382.401 retention period assigned from the result. SAP referral and SAP clearance are recorded as events on the same tab, with alerts when a SAP engagement is overdue or a return-to-duty test is still pending, and Clearinghouse queries are logged with reminders 60, 30, and 7 days before the annual query is due. Roadworthy HQ has no dispatch system, so nothing in it can stop a driver or a vehicle from being assigned a load.