Pubdate: Wed, 01 Feb 2006
Source: Lakes District News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2006 BC Newspaper Group
Contact:  http://www.ldnews.net/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2288
Author: Tom Hunt
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)

ALCOHOL AND DRUG TESTING FOR TRUCK DRIVERS

An industry led initiative means logging drivers could face more 
rigorous drug and alcohol testing within the year.

The Safety Accord Forestry Enterprise (SAFE) Companies initiative was 
announced Mid-January, coming on the back of a year in which 43 
forest workers died in the province.

One of these was logging truck driver Lloyd Booth who was killed when 
his loaded truck went off the side of Raspberry Road, Northwest of 
Houston Dec. 8.

A B.C. Coroners Service report said marijuana was found in his blood.

Of the 20 action items in the initiative is a recommendation to 
develop pre-qualification standards.

B.C. Forest Safety Council TruckSafe project manager Mary Anne Arcand 
said alcohol and drug testing will be part of this.

"The SAFE Companies initiative is starting with pilots this spring 
and will be fully implemented by 2007. Then the drug and alcohol 
piece is going to have to work in with that."

However, it is going to be an uphill struggle implementing mandatory 
testing, she said.

"Moving from first introducing the idea to actually getting it in 
place is not going to be easy."

In order to make the changes mandatory there will have to be 
regulation changes, she said, adding human rights and training for 
testing will be factors in the debate.

Although testing is far from across the board, Arcand pointed to some 
companies, such as international forest products company 
Weyerhaeuser, who test their own drivers.

"They entered into an agreement with the union for this and they have 
four test points."

These are pre-employment, post-incident, random testing in addition 
to criteria for suspicion of impairment.

This will be one of the models looked at in the implementation of the 
SAFE initiatives in which contractors and mills will be asked to 
share the responsibility, she said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom