Drug & Alcohol Testing Policy

While driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is dangerous, flying, or maintaining aircraft while under the influence may have more devastating consequences. This is because drunk driving can lead to accidents which vary in the degree of damage from minor to fatal, but accidents involving airplanes are much less likely to be minor. The very nature of flying is such that accidents are likely to have much more significant effects than those of driving. This research examines the drug and alcohol policies related to aviation in general, and to general aviation in particular.

Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of 1991

Recognizing the importance of keeping transportation as drug and alcohol-free as possible, the federal government enacted the Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of 1991. This legislation requires drug and alcohol testing of "safetysensitive" employees in the aviation, motor carrier, railroad and mass transit industries (Jochum 1). Under the Omnibus Act (and other legislation), employees

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who have blood alcohol levels of more than 0.02 percent but less than 0.04 percent are removed from safety-sensitive functions for a minimum of eight hours, or until they pass another test ("Is the DOT Guilty" 65). Despite the costs that are associated with these regulations, there has been widespread acceptance of the rules in the industry, in part because of the perception that the industry is trying to overcome. Accepting random testing is one way that the industry can improve its public image by illustrating that it eagerly embraces regulations which seek to improve public safety by ensuring that employees are not under the influence when performing critical tasks (Macdonald 18). Obstacles to Random Alcohol/Drug Tests Some analysts and advocates in the aviation industry have suggested that the Omnibus Act and related legislation places too much emphasis on the blood test and not enough emphasis on whether or not individuals are fit to perform the task at hand. These advocates argue that some prescription medication taken under the advice of a physician may render individuals unfit to perform their tasks, and that other individuals may be able to perform adequately even when their blood tests would indicate otherwise. So
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Approximate Word count = 1547
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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