Safety in the workplace is important for many reasons. A safe working environment is one where people can do their jobs efficiently and with the peace of mind that comes from knowing they are not being exposed to unnecessary risks. But a more important factor is that in some cases, the risks posed by an unsafe workplace can mean injury or even death.
This is the case with the transportation industry, where vehicles like trains and trucks move throughout cities and states, with the rails and roads as their workplace. In these cases, a safe working environment means safe driving habits. The Department of Transportation reinforces this, and it presents real career opportunities if you want to know how to be a certified DOT drug test collector.
The Legal Mandate
Before we get into how to be a certified DOT drug test collector, it’s important to look at the rationale behind the profession. We depend heavily on human drivers to operate the trucks, buses, and other commercial vehicles that transport people and goods to where they need to go. As career drivers, this means they don’t spend 30-60 minutes on the road to get to and from work; they drive for hours.
This means there is an extra emphasis on alertness and sobriety that confronts the fact that professional drivers spend many more hours behind the wheel. As a result, the Department of Transportation or DOT has laws in place for people within the commercial transportation industry. Not only are professional drivers legally required to drive safely and soberly, but this is also enforced through mandatory drug testing at certain periods.
Testers On The Front Line
People looking into how to be a certified DOT drug test collector is one of the ways that this important role is fulfilled. Throughout America, different transportation or transport-related companies must remain compliant with this testing requirement. They don’t have their own staff that is dedicated to conducting drug tests since often, this is completely unrelated to their actual business operations.
However, the requirements for drug testing clear and, more importantly, there are strict rules in place for how the drug tests should be conducted. This requires very specific training as well as experience and the right tools. This the primary reason why more and more people are looking into how to be a certified DOT drug test collector, and it’s an important role that continues to have high demand in the transportation industry.
What It Takes
People who want to know how to be a certified DOT drug test collector need to find a school or other organization that provides certified training. While it is possible to read up on what needs to be done for drug testing, the theory and the reality of conducting DOT compliant drug tests may not always match. One of the biggest factors a DOT drug test collector needs to consider is eliminating any chance of cheating, and this is something that will vary significantly from one testing situation to the next.
One of the biggest challenges for drug testers is the ability to improvise. Drug testing often happens at a specific location, sometimes even at a workplace. DOT drug testing is often conducted through the collection of a urine sample, but, due to decency and privacy concerns, the sample collection itself takes place in a private bathroom, unsupervised.
This means that it is up to the drug tester to use a combination of training, knowledge of DOT collection regulations, and a bit of on-the-spot planning to use established techniques to render cheating unfeasible. Not every collection situation is going to be the same, so testers need to adjust to the situation they find themselves in.
For Safety & Liability
DOT drug test collectors play an important role in the transportation industry. They work with company representatives, ensuring that DOT compliance is observed, and this, in turn, makes transportation companies safer places to work for both employees and others on the road.
At the same time, this also ensures that safe, sober professional drivers aren’t liable. In addition to the safety concern, a driver that is involved in an accident and is shown to be under the influence of drugs at the time would place the transportation company in both legal and financial accountability for any consequences of that accident.
Get Started Today
If you’d like to get more details on how to be a certified DOT drug test collector, we can help. We have the training, materials, and equipment that are required for people to familiarize themselves with the procedures and techniques.
Once you’ve learned the proper protocol and learned how to collect drug test samples in a way that doesn’t compromise the integrity of the sample, you’ll be ready to work with both business and testing labs to ensure good results.