NEARLY 10% OF TRUCKERS FAIL OREGON DRUG TEST

Safety: Checkpoints Turn Up Evidence Of Drivers Using Marijuana, Cocaine And
More. But Some Of Their Vehicles Were In Even Worse Shape.

PORTLAND, Ore.--A 48-hour check of trucks along Oregon's southern
border showed nearly one in 10 drivers tested positive for drug use,
an Oregon State Police report says. And the numbers may be higher. The
trucks themselves were in even worse shape. About a fourth rumbled
north despite bad brakes, bald tires and cracked wheels. Inspectors
ordered 98 of the rigs off the road because of driver and equipment
violations. Police stopped 373 trucks entering Oregon at Ashland and
Klamath Falls in October and collected urine samples from 367 drivers,
six of whom were arrested on the spot, the Oregonian reported today.

"Drug use, combined with the long and at times excessive hours driven,
creates an increased propensity for commercial vehicles crashes," said
state police Lt. Charles E. Hayes. "And that should concern everyone.
We share the road with these people."

Violators may still be driving because state authorities do not
automatically notify the trucking companies.

In addition, federal regulations generally leave it up to the drivers
to tell their employers if they have been convicted or have lost their
license. The test results showed 34 drivers, or 9.3%, had drugs in
their system, most commonly cocaine and methamphetamines, marijuana
and prescription painkillers.

Twenty-six drivers, including some who were in reserve and not at the
wheel, refused to take the tests, Hayes said, suggesting that the drug
use estimate may be conservative.

Ericka Ohm, of the Oregon Trucking Assns., found the arrest figures
less than alarming and "kind of in line with national testing
results." State police planned the operation after a large number of
truck crashes during the first nine months of 1998 in southern Oregon.
Seventy truck wrecks occurred in Douglas, Jackson and Josephine
counties, causing 18 serious injuries and three deaths. The operation
was the first to deploy safety inspectors from the Oregon Department
of Transportation along with police trained to detect alcohol and drug
impairment.

Word of the border stop quickly spread via CB radio, and state police
set up another checkpoint in Klamath Falls to intercept drivers
avoiding the Ashland stop.

Before the operation ended Oct. 8, the California Highway Patrol
reported hundreds of trucks laying up in Northern California, waiting
for the checks to end.

Troopers issued 45 citations and 80 warnings for equipment or driving
problems. Four other drivers were so fatigued they were removed from
service, Hayes said.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry