Federal rules, not a lawyer’s suspicion, decide whether a truck driver is tested for alcohol and drugs after a crash. Part 382 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations requires the carrier to test after a fatal crash and after certain injury or tow-away crashes in which the driver is cited, within set time windows, and to keep the results for years.
The short version
- A fatal crash always triggers testing. The carrier must test each surviving driver who was performing safety-sensitive functions (49 C.F.R. § 382.303(a)(1) and (b)(1)).
- Other crashes need a ticket. After an injury needing treatment elsewhere, or a tow-away, a test is owed only when the driver gets a moving-violation citation inside the alcohol or drug window.
- The windows are short. Alcohol attempts end at 8 hours, drug attempts at 32, and a missed window must be explained in a written record.
- Retention varies. Positive results and refusals are kept at least five years; negative drug results one year (§ 382.401).
- Texas defines intoxication separately in Penal Code § 49.01(2), a different test from the federal 0.04 line.
When does federal law require a post-accident drug and alcohol test of a truck driver?
The carrier must test every surviving driver doing safety-sensitive work when a crash kills someone (see the fatal crash page). If someone was hurt and treated away from the scene, or a vehicle was towed with disabling damage, a test is owed only when the driver receives a moving-violation citation inside the window.
The rule is 49 C.F.R. § 382.303 (eCFR, up to date as of October 15, 2026). It covers crashes of commercial vehicles on public roads in commerce, and the duty to test arises “as soon as practicable.” Paragraph (c) sets out three situations, shown here in plain form.
| Type of crash | Driver cited? | Alcohol and drug test required? |
|---|---|---|
| Human fatality | Yes or no | Yes, for each surviving driver doing safety-sensitive work |
| Bodily injury with immediate medical treatment away from the scene | Yes | Yes |
| Bodily injury with immediate medical treatment away from the scene | No | No |
| Disabling damage requiring a tow-away | Yes | Yes |
| Disabling damage requiring a tow-away | No | No |
Source: 49 C.F.R. § 382.303(a)–(c), read October 16, 2026. The citation must be for a moving traffic violation arising from the crash.
The section excludes occurrences involving only boarding or alighting from a stationary vehicle or only loading or unloading cargo (§ 382.303(h)). And under § 382.303(g), a breath or blood alcohol test, or a urine drug test, run by law enforcement or public safety officials with independent authority for the test counts toward the requirement if it meets the applicable testing rules and the employer obtains the results. Why these claims differ from car crashes generally is in our overview of 18-wheeler claims.
What are the two-, eight- and thirty-two-hour limits for post-crash testing?
If an alcohol test slips past two hours, the carrier must write down why; at eight hours it must stop trying. A drug test has no two-hour record rule: the carrier stops trying at 32 hours and must record why a test was not promptly given. The driver must stay available or may be treated as having refused.
The limits are in § 382.303(d). For alcohol, a test that slips past two hours requires a written record of the reasons, and after eight hours the employer must “cease attempts” and keep that record. For drugs, the cut-off is 32 hours, again with a record of the reasons. The same hours bound the citation: paragraph (a)(2) counts a ticket received within 8 hours, and (b)(2) one received within 32 hours. Paragraph (e) adds that the driver must remain “readily available” or may be deemed to have refused, but nothing requires delaying medical attention or bars leaving to get help.
A separate rule, § 382.209, bars a driver required to take a post-accident alcohol test from using alcohol for eight hours after the crash or until the test is done, whichever comes first. Preserving records and truck data is covered in our evidence post.
What does federal law prohibit a commercial driver from doing?
A commercial driver may not perform safety-sensitive work with an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or more, use alcohol on duty or within four hours before duty, use Schedule I drugs, or perform duty after a positive test or a refusal. A non-Schedule I drug is allowed only if prescribed by a doctor who has advised it will not impair safe driving.
Section 382.201 sets the 0.04 line; § 382.205 forbids using alcohol while performing safety-sensitive functions; § 382.207 forbids performing them “within four hours after using alcohol”; § 382.211 forbids refusing a required test; § 382.213 covers controlled substances and § 382.215 bars duty after a positive result, adulterated or substituted specimen. Under § 382.213(b), a non-Schedule I drug is allowed only when “prescribed by a licensed medical practitioner … who is familiar with the driver’s medical history and has advised the driver that the substance will not adversely affect the driver’s ability to safely operate a commercial motor vehicle.” An employer with “actual knowledge” of a violation may not let the driver work; § 382.107 includes in that term direct observation, a citation for driving a commercial vehicle under the influence, and the driver’s own admission.
A driver’s medical condition is its own topic in our post on drivers’ medical issues, and fatigue is in the hours-of-service guide.
How does Texas define intoxication for a truck driver?
In Texas Penal Code § 49.01(2), “intoxicated” means lacking the normal use of mind or body because of alcohol, a controlled substance, a drug or another substance, or having an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more. It applies to every driver, commercial or not.
The definition is in Chapter 49 of the Penal Code (read October 16, 2026). Driving while intoxicated is the offense of being intoxicated while operating a motor vehicle in a public place (§ 49.04(a)). Intoxication assault, a third-degree felony, requires serious bodily injury caused by the intoxication (§ 49.07); intoxication manslaughter, a second-degree felony, requires a death (§ 49.08). A criminal case and a civil claim run separately, and a charge is not a finding; the personal injury page explains the civil side.
FOX 26 Houston reported on July 29, 2023 that an 18-wheeler driver in Harris County was charged with intoxication assault after a rear-end crash that injured a motorist; according to court documents quoted in the story, a breath sample showed 0.194 and 0.198 and an open beer was in plain view. The outlet called that more than twice the legal limit; the charge was only an allegation. The firm’s drunk driving victims page and our post on DWI figures in Texas cover the car-and-truck crossover.
A later KPRC Click2Houston report, published October 13, 2024, shows how hard impairment is to prove. It said a truck driver charged with intoxication manslaughter over an April 2022 chain-reaction crash on the East Freeway, in which a woman died, had his case dismissed, with court records citing “insufficient evidence of defendant’s guilt.” Police had said he was unsteady, smelled of alcohol and appeared to have taken a depressant; the story reports no test result, and the charge was an allegation that did not end in a finding.
What is the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse and what does it record?
The Clearinghouse is a federal database of drug and alcohol violations by commercial drivers: verified positive drug tests, alcohol results of 0.04 or more, and test refusals. Employers must query it before hiring a driver and at least once a year, with the driver’s consent, and may not use a driver whose query shows a prohibition.
Its rules begin at 49 C.F.R. § 382.701. Under (a), an employer must run a full pre-employment query, which “requires that the individual driver give specific consent”; under (b), it must query at least once a year. Section 382.705 requires medical review officers to report verified positive, adulterated or substituted results within two business days, and employers to report an alcohol confirmation of 0.04 or greater and certain refusals by the close of the third business day. FMCSA must tell a driver whenever information about the driver is added, revised, removed or released to an employer (§ 382.707).
FMCSA’s own December 2025 monthly report (data through December 2025, as of January 2, 2026) counts 57,507 violations reported in 2025 and 368,984 since January 6, 2020, and says positive drug tests account for 82% of all violations reported. For 2025 its table counts 50,176 substance identifications in positive drug tests, of which 32,938 were the marijuana metabolite; the report notes that one test can show more than one substance, so these are not unique tests. Those figures cover the whole industry, not one carrier; see the causes of Houston truck crashes for the wider picture. Who else can be responsible is in our liability post; an impaired driver who hits a car is also a car accident question.
How long must a carrier retain drug and alcohol test records?
It depends on the record: at least five years for positive results, refusals and program-violation records; two years for collection-process records; and one year for negative drug results and for alcohol results under 0.02. The records must be kept in a secure location with controlled access.
| Record | Minimum retention |
|---|---|
| Alcohol results of 0.02 or greater; verified positive drug results; refusals; evaluations and referrals; calibration documents; program-administration records, including driver violations; annual summaries | 5 years |
| Records related to the collection process (listed to include documents generated in connection with decisions on post-accident tests) | 2 years |
| Negative and canceled drug results; alcohol results under 0.02 | 1 year |
Source: 49 C.F.R. § 382.401(a)–(c), read October 16, 2026.
A written demand that the carrier preserve what it has is a separate step, discussed in our post on mistakes after a truck crash and in the evidence post linked above.
How are a truck driver’s test records obtained in an injury claim?
Federal rules bar an employer from releasing a driver’s test information without the driver’s specific written consent, with exceptions. One exception covers a civil action over a driver’s safety-sensitive duties, where a court decides the information is relevant and orders the employer to produce it.
The default is in § 382.405(a): “Except as required by law or expressly authorized or required in this section, no employer shall release driver information that is contained in records required to be maintained under § 382.401.” Part 40’s confidentiality rule, 49 C.F.R. § 40.321, defines “specific written consent” and prohibits blanket releases. The litigation exception is § 40.323(a)(2): a criminal or civil action resulting from an employee’s performance of safety-sensitive duties “in which a court of competent jurisdiction determines that the drug or alcohol test information sought is relevant to the case and issues an order directing the employer to produce the information.” The rule gives its own example: “in personal injury litigation following a truck or bus collision, the court could determine that a post-accident drug test result of an employee is relevant to determining whether the driver or the driver’s employer was negligent.” The employer may release the information to the decisionmaker, with a binding stipulation that it be available only to the parties, and must notify the employee in writing.
In plain terms: a court order, not a phone call to the carrier. A driver may separately obtain copies of the driver’s own records on written request (§ 382.405(b)). What the records then show, and how an expert reads them, is a matter for expert witnesses. When the facts are serious enough, a claim may also raise gross negligence against the carrier, a separate standard we explain on its own page.
What if the driver was never tested, or was tested late?
A missing or late test is itself a record to look for. When a required test is not given inside the window, the carrier must prepare and keep a statement of the reasons. A driver’s refusal of a required test violates § 382.211, and the carrier may not keep that driver on safety-sensitive work.
The rule does not say what a missing test proves about the crash; it says what the carrier must document: § 382.303(d) requires a record of why an alcohol test was not given within two hours, and a record when attempts stop at eight hours (alcohol) or 32 hours (drugs), and § 382.401(c)(1) lists documents generated in connection with decisions on post-accident tests among the records to keep. Those records can show whether the carrier followed the federal testing rules. They do not by themselves show impairment, and a negative result does not rule out other causes such as speed, distraction or following distance, which are separate posts on distracted driving and trucks that fail to stop. For a general account of the claim, see what a truck accident lawyer does.
For a driving-while-intoxicated case in Harris County, the county’s forensic institute tells the agencies that submit specimens that blood is the preferred sample and that “Drug-positive urine results only indicate exposure to drugs and cannot be related to drug impairment” (Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, toxicology laboratory page). Which specimen was taken, and how long after the crash, is therefore worth asking about in the driver’s test records.
A family weighing these records can read the Houston trucking accident page for the wider claim, and the wrongful death page if the crash was fatal. A carrier based in another state raises its own questions, covered in the interstate 18-wheeler article; an adjuster may also ask for medical records, which this article addresses; and a fatal crash raises the questions in who may file after a death. Questions about your own situation can go through the contact page. Next steps are in five things to do after a truck accident; valuation is on the settlement page, and truck insurance has its own post.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if a driver fails a DOT drug test?
The driver may not perform safety-sensitive functions after a positive result (49 C.F.R. § 382.215), and the verified positive is reported to the Clearinghouse by the medical review officer within two business days (§ 382.705).
How far back does a DOT drug test go?
For the carrier’s records, five years for verified positives and refusals, two years for collection-process records and one year for negative results (49 C.F.R. § 382.401). The Clearinghouse report counts violations reported since January 6, 2020.
How can a driver check DOT drug test results?
A driver is entitled, on written request, to copies of records of the driver’s own alcohol and controlled-substances tests, and the employer must provide them promptly (49 C.F.R. § 382.405(b)).
Does a truck driver have to be tested after every accident?
No. Testing is required after a fatal crash. After a crash with an off-scene medical treatment or a tow-away, it is required only when a moving-violation citation is issued in time (49 C.F.R. § 382.303).
Can the carrier release a driver’s test results to me?
Not freely. Federal rules require the driver’s specific written consent, except where a court finds the information relevant and orders production in a civil action over safety-sensitive duties (49 C.F.R. §§ 382.405, 40.323).
Is the federal alcohol limit for truck drivers the same as the Texas limit?
No. The federal rule bars safety-sensitive work at 0.04 or more (49 C.F.R. § 382.201), while the Texas Penal Code counts 0.08, or loss of normal faculties, as intoxication (§ 49.01(2)).
About the authors
Sam A. Maida, Jr.
Owner and Managing Attorney
Sam A. Maida, Jr. has represented injured Texans in the greater Houston area since the firm opened in 1993.
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Bernard G. Johnson III
Litigation Managing Attorney
Bernard G. Johnson III is a board certified trial lawyer licensed in Texas since 1996 and a graduate of South Texas College of Law.