Oregon Stiffens CDL Drug Testing

Gov. John Kitzhaber rejected a speed increase but approved legislation that will require positive drug tests to be recorded on a trucker’s commercial driver license.

On Sept. 9, he signed a drug testing bill backed by the Oregon Trucking Associations that would put positive drug tests on a driver’s CDL. The law, which takes effort March 1, also requires carriers to certify they have a drug and alcohol testing program before registering their trucks.

The governor vetoed a bill that would have raised the maximum speed on rural highways from 60 mph to 70 mph for trucks and 65 mph to 75 mph for other vehicles. He said his work as an emergency room doctor forced him to oppose the higher speed limits because they would have resulted in an increase in traffic deaths and injuries.