Pubdate: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 Source: Toronto Star (CN ON) Copyright: 2010 The Toronto Star Contact: http://www.thestar.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456 Authors: Tess Kalinowski and Ann Hui TTC SUBSTANCE TESTING WON'T START TILL AUGUST It Took Police Breathalyzer to Take Bus Driver Off the Road Friday A year and a half after the TTC approved a controversial drug- and alcohol-testing policy for employees, new testing procedures are still not in effect. A screening test for new hires was introduced last month. But the part of the fitness-for-duty policy that would have allowed the TTC to administer breathalyzer and oral fluid tests to the bus driver who had her licence suspended Friday won't go into effect until August. Police gave the driver a breathalyzer test at about 2:30 p.m. and suspended her after passengers on the Dawes Rd. route called in complaints. While not legally over the blood-alcohol limit, she was found to have consumed enough to fall within the "warn" range of 50 to 80 milligrams in 100 millilitres of blood, warranting a 72-hour licence suspension. The transportation ministry says that at that level, a driver may have decreased perception of colours, depth and motion, a decreased ability to perform simple motor functions, and slower reaction time. The bus driver has been suspended indefinitely without pay pending a TTC investigation, transit officials said yesterday. Under the TTC's new policy, workers who are suspected by their supervisor of being impaired on the job, or who have been involved in an incident, will receive an oral fluid swab and take a breathalyzer test, a program coordinator said Tuesday. But those tests aren't in place because the TTC is still finalizing its procedures, training supervisors and communicating the policy to staff, said Nadia Pazzano. While possession makes substance use obvious in some cases, "the question of impairment is more difficult," Pazzano said. "This fitness-for-duty policy is an improvement, in terms of giving us better tools for investigating." Until the testing is in place, the TTC has been relying on supervisors' observations to deem whether a worker is fit for duty. There's a 28-item checklist of signs including the smell of alcohol, slurred speech, disorientation, bloodshot eyes, general mood or dilated pupils. It's not known if the driver in Friday's incident had any contact with a supervisor that day. A supervisor who suspects an employee is impaired is to call another supervisor to confirm the observations. The worker is immediately removed from duty, said Pazzano. That will continue when testing begins, even if a breathalyzer immediately shows the driver hasn't been drinking, she said, because it takes up to three days to have the swabs analyzed for marijuana, cocaine, opiates, phencyclidine and amphetamines. A decline in such incidents over the past year proves changes already undertaken are working, said TTC chair Adam Giambrone. In the past year there have been only one or two, he said, compared with the 39 incidents of drug and alcohol impairment over a two-year period that were listed in a report in 2008. "The other planks have gone into effect and they're working," he said. "A lot of this is about very clear supervisory changes; it was about culture change." The TTC introduced the substance-abuse policy following the death of a subway maintenance worker in April 2007. Antonio Almeida was killed and two other workers seriously injured after the work car Almeida was in derailed when a piece of equipment got caught on the subway wall. It was discovered that Almeida had drugs in his system at the time. He had also been caught using drugs before the accident but was returned to the job without sufficient follow-up. Friday's incident isn't enough reason for the commission to reconsider its 2008 decision against random screening, Giambrone said. But former transit commissioner Michael Thompson, city councillor for Ward 37, Scarborough Centre, said random testing would be a deterrent to those tempted to drink or use drugs on duty. "It's another measure of security," he said. "It would provide riders with a better sense that the system is being monitored." Although random testing is common in the United States, only one other Canadian transit agency uses it. That's in Windsor, where bus drivers cross the border. That it's not common practice in Canada isn't a reason to avoid it, Thompson said. But someone careless enough to drive a bus while under the influence probably won't change their behaviour because of another layer of testing, said Graeme Norton, project director with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. "Your job as an employee is to report fit for duty," said Giambrone, adding that there is an employee assistance program workers can turn to if they have problems with drinking or drug use. Workers suffering extreme fatigue, which can also impair their fitness, are expected to call in sick. Friday's incident follows other recent controversies involving TTC workers. In January, a TTC worker was photographed sleeping in his collector booth at McCowan station. A month later, a rider videotaped a TTC bus driver leaving his passengers in a bus with the doors open during a lengthy, unscheduled coffee break. Later that month, the commission announced initiatives to improve relations with customers, including a new customer service advisory panel. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake