OSP: One in Ten Commercial Drivers Test Positive for Drugs

Unlike the first Operation Trucker Check in 1998 when nearly 20 percent of the drivers refused to provide voluntary urine samples for testing, only 4 percent refused to provide a voluntary sample this year.

Salem-News.com

(SALEM) - Toxicology tests completed by the Oregon State Police Forensic Services Division on nearly 500 voluntarily provided anonymous urine tests during last month's Operation Trucker Check XII indicates about one in ten commercial drivers had controlled substances in their system.

The percentage total results of this trucker check operation were similar to those noted during the first operation in 1998, but there were some increases in positive tests in some drug categories.

"An analysis of urine collected at three of the twelve trucker check operations since 1998 does not demonstrate a significant difference in the presence of controlled substances among the commercial motor carrier driver population," said OSP Sergeant Alan Hageman of the Patrol Services Division. "The unacceptable part is that nearly one in ten commercial drivers had controlled substances in their system while operating 80,000 pound vehicle combinations on our highways."

Operation Trucker Check XII, an around-the-clock three day interagency inspection and enforcement project, was held April 10th – 12th, at the Interstate 5 southbound Woodburn Port of Entry.

A team of law enforcement officers and ODOT commercial vehicle inspectors targeted driver impairment related to alcohol, drugs, or fatigue, and vehicle equipment safety.

The first operation was held in 1998 at the Ashland Port of Entry and has been held at other locations including Ontario, Cascade Locks, and Klamath Falls.

Unlike the first Operation Trucker Check in 1998 when nearly 20 percent of the drivers refused to provide voluntary urine samples for testing, only 4 percent refused to provide a voluntary sample this year.

OSP evidence technicians helped police obtain the urine samples that were forwarded to an OSP Forensic Lab for testing.

The following are the analysis results of the 487 urine samples obtained:

• 8 drivers tested positive for the presence of amphetamines, equal to the number of drivers tested positive in 1998.
• 8 tested positive for the presence of cannabinoid (marijuana), nearly double the number of drivers tested positive in 1998.
• 2 tested positive for the presence of methadone.
• 16 tested positive for opiates (e.g., oxycodone), double the number of drivers tested positive in 1998.
• 3 tested positive for propoxyphene (synthetic opiates).
• 5 were positive for more than one drug category.
• Overall, 41 (9.65%) 487 drivers provided urine which tested positive in at least one drug category.