Federal authorities announced this week that trucking fleet owners will be required to randomly drug test their drivers at a rate of 25 percent once again in 2017.
The testing requirement, set by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, is determined by the results of an annual compliance survey of truck and bus companies.
The agency lowered the percentage for drug testing from 50 percent to 25 percent for 2016 after less than 1 percent of tested commercial driver’s licensed drivers showed evidence of controlled substances between 2011 and 2013.
The most recent data available, from 2014, showed positive tests in 0.9 percent of cases. The percentage will automatically increase to 50 percent should subsequent surveys show a positive rate in excess of 1 percent.
“For the safety of everyone traveling on our highways and roads, no driver should ever get behind the wheel under the influence of drugs or alcohol,” FMCSA Administrator Scott Darling said in a statement.