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Drug and alcohol rules for crews: what the regulators say in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and New South Wales

What the federal driver testing rules, OSHA, HSE, CCOHS, WorkSafeBC and SafeWork NSW say about impairment at work, written policies and testing.

Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 9, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It does not say whether any state or provincial cannabis law applies, and none of the sources below is a cannabis law. Help lines are on the guide to mental health and support lines for tree workers. Other related guides cover the right to refuse unsafe work and reporting injuries.

Five sources side by side

Place and sourceWhat it says
United States, 49 CFR Part 382Alcohol and drug testing programs for drivers of commercial motor vehicles who need a commercial driver's licence. Six test types are named. Not a general testing rule for all crew.
United States, OSHA memorandum of October 11, 2018Says post-incident drug testing is not prohibited by the anti-retaliation provision in 29 CFR 1904.35(b)(1)(iv), unless done to penalize an employee for reporting an injury.
United Kingdom, HSEScreening may suit safety-critical jobs; employees must consent; screening alone will not solve problems.
Canada, CCOHS and WorkSafeBCCCOHS describes a management of impairment policy and says supervisors do not diagnose. BC regulation 4.20 bars working while impaired.
New South Wales, SafeWork NSWDuty on the business to manage the risk; duties on workers to be fit for work; testing programs are one example of a control, with a note that legal advice may be required.

United States: driver testing

Part 382 of Title 49 is on eCFR. Section 382.101 gives its purpose as programs to help prevent accidents and injuries from misuse of alcohol or use of controlled substances by drivers of commercial motor vehicles. Section 382.103 applies it to employers and persons who operate a commercial motor vehicle in commerce and are subject to commercial driver's licence requirements, and says an owner-operator must also set up a random testing program. The part names these tests.

  • Pre-employment (382.301). A driver undergoes a controlled substances test before first performing safety-sensitive functions, and the employer must have a negative result from the medical review officer, unless an exception in the section applies.
  • Post-accident (382.303). After an occurrence involving a commercial motor vehicle on a public road, the employer tests surviving drivers where the accident involved loss of human life, or where the driver receives a citation within 8 hours (alcohol) or 32 hours (controlled substances) and the accident involved treated injury or a vehicle towed away.
  • Random (382.305). The minimum annual rate is 10 percent of the average number of driver positions for alcohol and 50 percent for controlled substances, with provisions for the FMCSA Administrator to raise or lower the rates.
  • Reasonable suspicion (382.307). Based on specific, contemporaneous, articulable observations, made by a trained supervisor or company official.
  • Return-to-duty and follow-up (382.309 and 382.311). Performed under 49 CFR Part 40, subpart O.

Section 382.209 says a driver required to take a post-accident alcohol test shall not use alcohol for eight hours following the accident, or until the test, whichever comes first. Whether a given tree company has drivers covered by Part 382 depends on the vehicles and licences in use; the part does not mention tree work.

The federal workplace safety agency OSHA issued a memorandum on October 11, 2018 that clarifies the Department's position that 29 CFR 1904.35(b)(1)(iv), which bars retaliation for reporting a work-related injury, does not prohibit workplace safety incentive programs or post-incident drug testing. It says such action violates the provision only if taken to penalize an employee for reporting rather than for the legitimate purpose of promoting workplace safety and health.

United Kingdom

HSE's guide Managing drug and alcohol misuse at work says employers have a legal duty to protect employees' health, safety and welfare, and lists warning signs such as unexplained absences, behaviour change, more accidents or near-misses, with the note that they can also be signs of stress or illness. Its screening and testing page (updated 2024-09-30) says there may be a case for screening in jobs where people make safety-critical decisions, such as drivers, pilots and some machinery operators. It lists points to bear in mind: employees must consent for practical and legal reasons, screening alone will not solve the problem, it must be carried out properly, and an employee cannot be made to take a test but may face disciplinary action if they refuse when the employer has good grounds. Text on this page is summarised from HSE pages published under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Canada

CCOHS's page on substance use in the workplace says workplaces are encouraged to have a management of impairment policy setting out acceptable behaviour, and that it is not the role of a supervisor or employer to diagnose a substance use problem but to identify whether an employee is impaired and take the steps in the organisation's policy. In British Columbia, section 4.20 of the OHS Regulation says a person must not enter or remain at a workplace while their ability to work is affected by alcohol, a drug or another substance so as to endanger anyone. It says the employer must not knowingly permit that, and notes that prescription and non-prescription drugs and fatigue are potential sources of impairment.

New South Wales

SafeWork NSW's alcohol and other drugs page says a person conducting a business or undertaking must take proactive steps to manage these risks, and that in some occupations, including road and rail transport, maritime, aviation and mining, the business is legally allowed to test workers' blood alcohol. It lists worker duties: be fit and well enough to do the job and not be under the influence at work. Among control examples it lists a written policy, training for supervisors, and a testing program such as random, pre-employment and post-incident testing, adding that legal advice may be required. This page adapts information from SafeWork NSW, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.

Sources