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Officials see rise in truck driver violations with marijuana and cocaine

Tennessee troopers said a truck driver was high on marijuana when he struck a Loudon County deputy.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Highway Patrol identified the tractor-trailer truck driver that hit and killed Sgt. Chris Jenkins on I-75 Thursday. Christopher Savannah, 41, faces a list of charges including vehicular homicide and DUI.

Troopers said the truck driver was under the influence of marijuana when he hit the deputy. According to a new report by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association (FMCSA), that fits a pattern.

The data showed that more truck drivers on the road are driving impaired. It shows drug test violations for truckers increased 10.2% over the last year. It says positive tests for cocaine rose by 10.4% and positive tests for marijuana use rose by 5.3%.

FMCSA data shows marijuana is by far the most prevalent drug identified by officials. It ranks 25% higher than all other drugs combined. 

Credit: FMCSA
According to FMCSA data, marijuana is by far the most prevalent drug used in the trucking industry, ranking 25% higher than all other substances combined that were reported into its database

Emory B. Young II is a licensed substance abuse professional for the state. He works for the Tennessee Department of Transportation, specifically in the Knoxville area with those who hold a commercial driver's license (CDL).

When a local truck driver fails a drug test, they don't lose their federal driving privileges, Young said.

"They can go through a process which consists of education, counseling, and a referral from me," he said.

Most of the drivers who fail the drug test in Knoxville test positive for marijuana or CBD, he said. However, he said experienced drivers aren't often the ones being sent his way.

"They're real particular about taking care of their business and not violating any kind of process, protocol, or the law that involves their driver's license because their driver's license is what gives them the ability to feed their families," he said.

It's the less experienced drivers he sees failing drug tests more often.

"I would suggest that people need to decide whether or not they want to make a living or if they want to use drugs," Young said.

There are safety measures in place. The FMCSA keeps a database of all drug and alcohol violations and employers are required to use the list to vet potential drivers.

However, local commercial truck driver Tom Burdick said it doesn't always work.

"There is such a need to fill seats that some companies are going to take what they can get," he said.

Burdick has had his CDL for nearly 10 years. He said it isn't easy to drive a tractor-trailer truck. When it's fully loaded with freight, it can weigh up to 80,000 pounds.

"With 80,000 pounds at 50 miles an hour, you're talking over a football field for us to stop," he said. 

He said it's unfortunate to see drug violations rising and sad to see the repercussions those choices can have.

"It gives us the bad name so anybody on a roadway that sees a truck on the roadway, they're instantly that same person and that's not true," he said. "There's more good than there is bad, and it's the good ones that try to get rid of the bad ones that ruin it for us."

"It's a lot of freedom but with that can come bad choices so it's going up with that freedom and knowing you have to make the right choices every time," he said. 

He said he's managed to keep a clean CDL during his career. 

"Caring for other people. knowing that one mistake I make could be the end of somebody's life," Burdick said. 

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