Issue link: http://palletcentral.uberflip.com/i/1311385
26 PalletCentral • November-December 2020 palletcentral.com Dan Horvath is vice president of safety policy, representing the American Trucking Associations and its safety agenda before federal and state government regulators and various non-governmental organizations. He may be reached at 703-838-8804 or dhorvath@trucking.org. If this year taught us anything, it is the value of flexibility, and the value of using whatever tools you have to get the job done. the horizon to allow these young people access to jobs in our industry, provided they are given advanced training above and beyond current standards and the latest safety technology. This is a win, not just for our industry, but for the safety of all motorists. Another area where flexibility is paramount for trucking is in the area of drug and alcohol screening. Our carriers are required to screen their drivers for drug use – and we're happy to do it. We want to keep drug users out from the behind the wheel of our trucks, and we just want the best tools to do that at our disposal. Many carriers would like to use hair samples to do these required drug tests. They provide a longer lookback at a person's potential drug use because evidence stays in the hair longer than it does in traditional urinalysis. And Congress agreed with us that this should be an option for carriers. However, the Department of Health and Human Services issued guidance this year that all but closes off hair testing as an option – despite Congress' clear, bipartisan directions. We expect this issue will be of prime importance in 2021, and we are ready to press HHS to do what Congress intended. This is an important safety tool carriers should have the flexibility to use. If this year taught us anything, it is the value of flexibility, and the value of using whatever tools you have to get the job done. Truckers have been doing that for decades, but 2020 was a good reminder of the value those traits have, not just for our industry, but for our economy and our country.