Some people in the employee assistance field may have heard of a new drug testing regulation for truck drivers and  wondered what it's all about.  Others may have heard of the term SAP and were curious about it.  Indeed, there has been some confusion in addiction circles and in the business community as to what is going on.  During the last couple of years I  have  been dealing with companies and EAP programs that have been using SAPs for their alcohol and drug assessments   I will explain my knowledge of the regulations and the SAP's role in the process to give the readers an understanding of the new transportation regulations. 

 SAP is an abbreviation for "substance abuse professional" and the term comes from a series of regulations  introduced to help ensure the safety of the  transportation industry.  The actual regulations are from the American Department of Transportation and they first included the Canadian Transportation industry on July 1, 1996. It was then that Canadian transportation companies had to start complying with the American regulations. Any change in legislation can cause confusion, however, this new set of American regulations can seem particularly complex for  three reasons: 

 1.U.S. Rules. The regulations that govern the transportation industry have originated and are monitored from the U.S. and not Canada.  Canadians did not make these rules but they are obliged to follow them. Canadian companies comply for economic reasons. Our government talked about similar legislation but has  not pursued it.  If Canadian transportation companies do business in the U.S. , then they must comply with the American rules or face the possibility large fines. No smart business wants to waste  money for fines so all Canadian companies that have drivers going to U.S. destination must use the same procedures that American companies are told to use. That means that the same basic procedures are being carried out in the exact same way in both countries.  The same drugs are tested for and the procedures must remain the same or they do not qualify as fulfilling the rules. A SAP does the same thing here as a SAP does in any part of the  United States. On top of this, the relevant Canadian records must be made available to American DOT inspectors so that they can make sure that the Canadian companies are following the rules. 
 

 2.  Basic understanding of alcohol and drug problems and treatment issues The primary safety objective of the regulation  is to prevent through deterrence and detection, alcohol and drug abusers from performing transportation safety sensitive functions.  The SAP is responsible  for doing an alcohol and drug assessment  on a driver that has had a positive drug screen. If the SAP feels that there is a problem that needs to be resolved the driver is referred for help with the problem. If the driver fails to comply, then he or she is not permitted back to the safety sensitive position. As we know, alcohol and drug problems can be confusing to business people as well as the general population. Some people may fail to understand the purpose of what the SAP is doing in relation to the company and the driver. This too can cause misunderstanding. 

 3. The regulation's application to the Canadian system. The application of the rules to the Canadian system regarding general procedure and conflict of interest may cause confusion for companies as our two health-care systems are so very different.  The U.S. relies on user pay and insurance while we have publicly supported Medicare and a mixture of people who charge for counselling directly and to EAP companies.  What can be a conflict in the U.S. treatment centre process does not happen here because money is not an issue with our public treatment centres.   For example, some treatment centres in the U.S. offer a fee to counsellors who refer clients to them.  Even though we have a different system, SAPs must be very careful with regard to referrals.  International certified alcohol and drug counsellors (ICADC) adhere to a code of ethics and  must be careful about any conflict of interest.  The conflicts are carefully spelled out in the regulations for the American system however application to the Canadian system is not totally clear.  We must adapt them to our special situation in Canada even though there is no money changing hands a referral  must appear  completely legitimate to the American inspectors.  This has caused confusion for individual counsellors and service providers trying to determine who can actually do a SAP assessment. 

History
In the late 1980s the U.S. government moved toward legislation that would enact substance-use testing in the transportation or motor carrier industry. The Canadian  government has had talk but no regulations in the drug testing area. Under the 1991 U.S. Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act, employers must test certain drivers for the use of alcohol and five controlled substances. The rules made under the amended 1991 Act have applied to Canadian companies involving 50 or more drivers since January 1, 1996.  On July 1, 1997 all the drivers of companies who go into the U.S. were  included and now must comply to the same regulations. This has caused challenges in the trucking industry. As there is no Canadian legislation ,the transportation industry had to rush to start their own way of complying with the Americans.  Consortiums such as  the Ontario Trucking Association were developed to make it easy for trucking firms to get the full range of services they need  to comply with the rules.   It  uses it's own Medical Review Officer (MRO) and its own testing programs. Several companies in the Maritimes have joined this consortium while other companies prefer to use the drug testing labs and SAPs of their own choosing. 

For more information you can look on the Canadian Centre of Substance Abuse web site  http://www.ccsa.ca/ under worknet.  The American DOT also has several web pages on the Internet which any of the popular search engines will help you find.   You also can get a copy of the regulations by calling the American Government Printing Office at (202) 512 1800.   Ask for 49CFR part 40. 
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Nick Barry, MSW, ICADC, . is an addictions counsellor based in Saint John, New Brunswick and does SAP assessments, addiction counselling, education and consulting for companies in eastern Canada. 
His e-mail address is nick@addictionconsulting.com