§382.303 mandates a post-accident alcohol and drug test for drivers involved in certain CMV accidents:
Test required if:
- Any human fatality, regardless of citation status; or
- Bodily injury treated away from the scene and the CMV driver was issued a citation under state or local law for a moving violation arising from the accident; or
- Disabling damage requiring tow-away and the CMV driver was issued a moving-violation citation arising from the accident.
The two clocks
- Alcohol test: within 8 hours of the accident
- Controlled substances test: within 32 hours of the accident
If either test cannot be administered within its window, the carrier must document why in writing and retain that documentation for 1 year per §382.401(b)(3). "Inability to test" is a narrow exception — local logistics challenges typically don't qualify.
Audit consequence
§385.321(b)(2) lists "failing to require post-accident testing as required by §382.303" as an audit auto-fail. The finding doesn't require a positive result — it requires only that a triggering accident occurred and no documented test exists.
How to prevent it
- Train dispatch and ops on the triggering criteria. The citation-required prong is the most commonly misremembered.
- Have a 24/7 collection-site relationship — most TPAs offer this.
- After every triggering accident, file the test result (or the documented inability) within 72 hours.
How Roadworthy HQ helps
When an accident is recorded in Roadworthy HQ, the §382.303 evaluation runs automatically against the triggering criteria. If triggered, the 8-hour and 32-hour deadlines surface as critical alerts on the dashboard with countdowns to deadline. The §382.303 evidence (test result or inability documentation) is required to clear the alert.