Supervisor reasonable-suspicion training
If you supervise CDL drivers, federal rules require training before you can order a reasonable-suspicion test. We teach supervisors what to look for, what to write down, and what to do in the first hour.
What 49 CFR 382.603 requires
Under 49 CFR 382.603, every person who supervises drivers and may decide whether to send a driver for a reasonable-suspicion test must receive:
- At least 60 minutes of training on alcohol misuse, and
- At least an additional 60 minutes on controlled substances use.
The training must cover the physical, behavioral, speech and performance indicators of probable alcohol misuse and controlled substances use. The rule does not require refresher training.
Keep proof of the training. Under 49 CFR 382.401, supervisor training records are kept for as long as the person supervises and for two years after they stop. Investigators review drug and alcohol program records during a safety audit, and having no testing program at all is one of the automatic failure violations.
What a reasonable-suspicion decision has to rest on
Training matters because the rule for the test itself is strict. Under 49 CFR 382.307:
- The decision must rest on specific, contemporaneous, articulable observations of the driver's appearance, behavior, speech or body odors. For drugs, signs of chronic use or withdrawal can count.
- The observations must be made by a supervisor or company official trained under 382.603. The person who decides an alcohol test is needed may not perform that alcohol test.
- An alcohol test should happen within 2 hours of the decision. If it doesn't, write down why. If it hasn't happened within 8 hours, stop trying and record the reasons.
- A driver who appears impaired by alcohol may not perform safety-sensitive work until a test shows a concentration below 0.02, or 24 hours have passed.
- The supervisor must write and sign a record of the observations within 24 hours, or before the test results are released, whichever comes first.
A hunch, a rumor or a bad attitude is not enough. A call made without trained eyes and a written record is hard to defend, for the company and for the driver.
What the training covers
Alcohol indicators
Physical, behavioral, speech and performance signs, and how they differ from fatigue, illness or a bad day.
Controlled substances indicators
Signs of drug use, chronic use and withdrawal, taught in the same plain way.
Writing it down
How to record what you saw, heard and smelled, with times, in words that hold up later.
The first hour
Taking the driver off duty, getting them to the collection site without driving, timing the test, and what goes in your records.
What you keep on file afterward
- Proof of training for each supervisor, showing the date and the 60 + 60 minutes
- A blank observation form your supervisors can use on the spot
- Notes on where reasonable suspicion fits in your written drug and alcohol policy
Backed by education
Our help with reasonable-suspicion training is backed by the education we created at Freight University. We use education, data, technology and academics to stay on top of the newest FMCSA rules and regulations. You don't get one person. You get a team, a platform and a network with up-to-date information, making sure it's done the right and correct way. How we work.
- Current on the newest FMCSA rules
- A team, a platform and a network behind you
- Done the right and correct way
Who needs it in a small fleet
If you hire even one employee driver, someone at your company supervises that driver, and usually it's the owner. That person needs this training. If you are a one-truck owner-operator with no other drivers, ask us how the drug and alcohol rules apply to you. A full mock audit also checks the rest of your testing program.
Questions and answers
How long is the training?
The regulation sets a minimum of 60 minutes on alcohol and 60 minutes on controlled substances, so at least two hours in total.
Do supervisors need to retake it every year?
No. 49 CFR 382.603 says recurrent training is not required. Some companies refresh it anyway when policies change.
What happens after a driver refuses or tests positive?
The driver must be removed from safety-sensitive work, and refusals and certain violations must be reported to the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse by the close of the third business day after you learn of them (49 CFR 382.705). The driver can't return until they complete the return-to-duty process.
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Schedule supervisor training
Tell us how many supervisors need training and when. We'll reply with the options.
Prefer the phone? Call 901-205-9679.