Senators and witnesses discussed gaps in post‑crash drug and alcohol testing and whether to broaden testing tools to include hair samples as legalization of marijuana and the opioid crisis change the testing landscape.

Senator Catherine Cortez Masto and others raised a FMCSA report that, the committee said, found more than 60% of truck drivers were not tested for drugs or alcohol after fatal crashes despite a statute requiring such testing. Industry and labor witnesses agreed post‑crash testing compliance is critical. Sean O’Brien said he “100 percent” supports post‑crash testing and recounted being tested after a fatal workplace incident earlier in his career.

Chris Spear of the American Trucking Associations told senators he supports expanding permissible testing tools and specifically backed hair testing to detect a wider window of drug use amid an opioid crisis and expanding state legalization of marijuana: “We will go so far to save hair testing as well,” Spear testified.

Louis Pugh of OOIDA supported post‑crash testing but opposed hair testing, saying he believes urine testing remains the scientifically established standard and that hair testing may produce inconsistent results for some populations. “We do not support the hair testing because we don't feel that there's enough research or data out there to show that it is accurate,” Pugh said.

Senators requested DOT and FMCSA examine enforcement gaps and consider whether statutory or regulatory changes are needed to ensure carriers test drivers after fatal crashes and whether testing methods should be expanded. No new statutory language was adopted at the hearing.