Section 382.301 requires every CMV driver to take a controlled substances (drug) test before performing any safety-sensitive function — meaning before the first dispatch. The test must be administered by a DOT-qualified collection site, processed by a HHS-certified lab, reviewed by a Medical Review Officer, and the result must be verified negative.
What counts as a safety-sensitive function
Driving, supervising loading and unloading, fueling the vehicle, repairing or attending to the vehicle, or accompanying the vehicle while it is being towed.
How to comply
- Enroll in a Consortium / Third-Party Administrator (C/TPA) before hiring drivers.
- The C/TPA arranges collection and lab processing.
- The MRO verifies the result; you receive a negative verified result.
- Retain the result for 5 years (longer for non-negatives).
When the §382.301 test is not required
If the driver was tested under §382.301 within the past six months and has been continuously enrolled in a random testing program meeting §382 since, the prior negative may suffice. Document the chain.
Severity weight
This is severity weight 10 — the highest in the Controlled Substances and Alcohol BASIC. New-entrant carriers fail audits over §382.301 routinely.
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. A negative pre-employment result marks the driver cleared on their record, and a driver with no pre-employment result on file triggers an alert. The cleared flag is a banner, not an enforcement: roadworthy HQ has no dispatch system, so nothing in it can stop a driver or a vehicle from being assigned a load.