Last updated : December 16, 2024
The trucking industry transports the nation’s goods cross-country greatly impacting the US economy. However, lately, it’s been in the limelight for increasing cases of alcohol and substance abuse among drivers.
The occupation is physically and mentally taxing. Many drivers travel long distances keeping them away from their families for extended periods. Over-the-road trucking involves immense solitude. Moreover, the demanding hours necessary to meet established deadlines can lead to sleep deprivation causing excessive fatigue. According to a study by the National Institutes of Health, drivers confess that the job can be annoyingly repetitive, monotonous, demanding, and stressful.
It’s estimated that up to one-third of the country’s commercial drivers find relief by using psychoactive substances, which include opioids—now considered a nationwide crisis among all industries, by the way. Drivers believe these substances help fight sleepiness, combat solitude, and induce the willingness to work more. Few, if any, are likely to admit that this is a problem.
Synthetic opioids fueled the surge
In November 2017, changes were made to the DOT regulations adding specific synthetic opioids to the DOT drug test. The changes to Part 40 which outlines the procedures for alcohol and drug testing for workers in the transport industry went into force on January 1, 2018. Before that, many employers mistakenly believed they didn’t need to worry about opioid abuse thinking it was isolated to a certain type of people, however, the truth is it’s become quite common across all demographics.
The routine weighs on them
The logistics and trucking industry is highly competitive in the United States. Last year, nearly seventy-three percent of all American cargo—in other words, over 11 billion tons of freight—was transported by trucks. The trucking industry continues to trump all other means of transport, air, pipeline, rail, and water combined.
The latest data released by the American Trucking Association reveals that trucking revenues were $940.8 billion in 2022. Over 11.46 billion tons of cargo was transported using trucks in 2022 per the report by Select USA.
As time goes by, the pressure and solitude that come with the job weigh down some drivers and they drink or use some form of drug to “take the edge off.” At some point, many move on to dangerous drugs such as meth and cocaine to make their job a little more interesting. What begins with innocent intent has far-reaching impacts on the health of the victims not to mention the social and financial implications on the families and society as a whole.
Substance abuse is a major cause of fatal crashes
As already noted, truck driving is a challenging job, however, using drugs can never eliminate that. Drivers often put their health, their lives—and the lives of other road users—on the line when they use stimulants or other drugs to complete a shift.
During a Reuter’s interview, half of the drivers confessed to drinking and driving while 30 percent of the drivers admitted to using amphetamines. They also reported that the use of mind-altering substances such as alcohol, amphetamines, cocaine, and marijuana could be linked to poor working conditions and long working hours.
Alcohol and drug abuse gives a false job performance impression
Inarguably, alcohol and substance abuse among truck drivers risks not only their lives but also that of others on the road. Even worse, it comes with an additional problem. Employers and the management personnel of the trucking companies get the impression that drivers can handle longer trips than usual.
Therefore, the drivers are assigned even longer trips. This, of course, keeps them on the road and away from their families which increases feelings of depression and loneliness. Eventually, as mentioned, some turn to drugs or alcohol. Being under the influence of drugs or alcohol when behind the wheel greatly increases the odds that there could be an accident.
Fatal crash stats are shocking
Usually, the victims of truck crashes are the passengers in other vehicles using the same road. One reason is that compared to small cars, loaded long trailers will take 20-40 percent farther to stop after applying brakes. It gets worse when using wet and slippery roads or when the brakes are faulty. Combine that with the driver having illegal drugs in their system which greatly impacts reaction time and the odds of an accident occurring increase measurably.
According to data and statistics announced by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 5,904 large truck crashes were reported in 2021. The data indicates that alcohol and drug abuse were often to blame for the fatal crashes.
Five thousand, seven hundred and eighty-eight people died in large truck crashes in 2021. The number is up 17% from just one year prior. An estimated 154,993 were injured when involved in crashes with a large truck during 2021 as well.
Time is on our side
There’s no denying that drug and substance abuse plays a role in the increasing number of truck crashes, but that may not always be the case. The FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse is in full swing now making it impossible for drivers who struggle with substance abuse to skate out of return-to-duty rehab treatment plans simply by moving to a new state and “starting fresh.” The statistics are beginning to reflect the positive effect that the Clearinghouse has on the number of large truck crashes.
Sometimes, accidents can’t be avoided. However, choosing to get behind the wheel with drugs or alcohol in your system is never an accident. Drivers who use drugs are making poor choices.
