TAXI DRIVER DRUG TESTING PROVES DIFFICULT TO DO

(Aug. 13, 2010) Members of the Ocean City Police Commission expressed
concern Wednesday that the new taxicab regulations do not allow for
the strict enforcement of random drug testing for taxi drivers.

The recently imposed regulations state that if a driver fails a drug
test or does not take one within 24 hours of the request, the city can
suspend the driver's permit. While this seems straightforward, both
Police Commission officials and cab company owners say other issues
are holding up the process.

There are 57 taxi companies and 224 drivers licensed in Ocean City,
but since the new regulations went into effect in the spring, only
eight drivers have gone through random drug tests. The tests are paid
for by the city, as the taxi regulations require.

The city's Risk Management Office is in charge of setting up the
random drug tests. Once a computer randomly picks a driver's number,
Associate Risk Manager Christine Parks alerts the cab company owner
that one of the drivers has been selected for the test.

The office has been giving the drivers 24 hours to have the test done
at Atlantic ImmediCare facility on 10th Street. But Parks told the
Police Commission at its Wednesday afternoon session that 12 drivers
have been selected so far, but only eight tests have been completed.
Two of the drivers selected no longer work for those companies, she
said, and the owners of the other two companies never returned her
calls.

Parks said she has had difficulty reaching some of the taxi company
owners. She said she has left telephone messages and sent e-mails but
received no response from some.

"There's no hammer to put down on these people to get them to
respond," she said.

While the city can suspend the driver's permit for not taking the
test, there is no provision enabling the city to take action against
the owners if they don't follow through.

"Let's chase after the owners of the company, period," Councilman Jim
Hall said.

The company owners are responsible for their drivers, Councilman Doug
Cymek said, so he said they too should be punished if they do not see
that their drivers are screened for drugs when requested. If the
owners do not respond to the city's messages, he said they should lose
the medallions that allow them to operate their taxis in town until
the driver takes, and passes, the test.

"We've got to deal with the medallion holder. That's where the
leverage is," Cymek said.

Many of the cab companies supported the random drug testing and
applauded the city for covering the cost of the tests. Suspending a
driver's permit if they fail the test is appropriate, said Classic
Taxi owner Christy Freeman, but she felt that attacking the owner goes
too far.

"They definitely should be yanking driver permits over this. I don't
want my driver driving you around town if he's high or if he's drunk.
But I don't think they should be taking medallions over this issue,"
she said in an interview.

Since many of the taxi drivers and owners work other full-time jobs
during the day and only run the cabs at night, the commission believed
that might be part of the reason why they are so difficult to reach by
phone during City Hall's working hours.

To remedy that, Council Secretary Lloyd Martin suggested randomly
stopping cabs on the road and requiring the drivers to immediately get
a drug test done.

"Just snatch them off the street," Hall agreed.

But the Police Department was not keen on that suggestion. Chief
Bernadette DiPino said that would take police officers away from their
regular duties and is an unnecessary use of manpower.

The U.S. Coast Guard requires licensed mariners to provide proof of a
negative drug test prior to employment and they are also subject to
random drug testing, according to OCPD Capt. Victor Bunting.

He said the vessel owners must ensure that testing is conducted when
asked and supported Cymek's request to implement a similar system for
Ocean City's taxis.

The commission voted to have City Solicitor Guy Ayres draft an
amendment to the taxi regulations that would allow the city to suspend
the medallions of taxi owners if they do not see that their employees
are tested when asked. The amendment must be approved by the full City
Council.

Freeman also wanted to see the random drug testing increased. When the
city implemented the medallion system in March and required every taxi
owner to pay $1,500 per medallion, she said the city officials pledged
to enforce the rules. With only eight people tested since then, she
said that promise has been broken.

"They promised us they would raise the standard of the taxi driver.
They said they would bring up the industry and make it a top-notch
industry and they would do drug testing to make sure people are safe.
With all due respect, they haven't stepped up to the plate," Freeman
said.