What Is Reasonable Suspicion Testing for CDL Drivers?

Reasonable suspicion testing is a drug or alcohol test that FMCSA rule 49 CFR 382.307 requires when an employer has reasonable suspicion that a driver has violated the alcohol or controlled substances prohibitions. The rule states that the decision must be based on specific, contemporaneous, articulable observations of the driver's appearance, behavior, speech or body odors.

Those observations must be made by a supervisor or company official trained under 49 CFR 382.603. That section calls for at least 60 minutes of training on alcohol misuse and at least an additional 60 minutes on controlled substances use, covering the physical, behavioral, speech and performance indicators. It also states that recurrent training is not required.

Under 382.307, a written record of the observations must be signed by the observer within 24 hours of the observed behavior or before the test results are released, whichever is earlier. The person who makes the determination may not conduct the alcohol test.

Learn Laws® offers DOT Reasonable Suspicion Training for Supervisors, an online course built around the 382.603 topics. Other training providers are listed in the MyDrugTesting.com directory under the Trainers category.