A random draw is only fair if the pool is right. The rule is short: every covered driver goes in, and nobody else does.
49 CFR 382.305(j)(1) says that covered employees, and only covered employees, are in an employer's random testing pool, and that all covered drivers must be in it. The selection method has to give every driver in the pool an equal chance each time selections are made (382.305(i)).
Two mistakes show up most. One is leaving a covered driver out, usually a part-timer or a recent hire nobody added. The other is padding the pool with people the rule doesn't cover, such as dispatchers or office staff who never drive. Either one changes the odds, and an auditor can see it in the pool list.
Drivers are hired, leave, and change jobs. Update the pool before each selection so it matches who is covered that day. The rule also lets you work out your average number of driver positions no more often than once a month, which is a reasonable rhythm for checking the roster as well.
When a selection is pulled, the pool should be saved exactly as it stood. Otherwise you can't show later who was eligible. DTSMS Online captures and locks the eligible pool at the moment of the draw; the selection software page walks through it.
If your employees fall under more than one DOT agency, 382.305(o) lets you either set up separate pools, each holding the employees who share the same minimum annual rate, or select all of them at the highest rate that applies to you. A single driver who is covered by more than one agency is tested at the rate of the agency that regulates more than half of that driver's function (382.305(n)).
You can hand selections to a service agent such as a C/TPA, and your drivers can sit in a larger pool alongside other employers' drivers (382.305(j)(2)). What you can't hand off is making sure the agent tests at the right percentage and that only covered employees are in the pool. Ask for the pool list and the selection records, and keep them.
If you manage several client companies yourself, DTSMS Online lets a consortium or TPA keep them in one account, each with its own pool and a separate billing statement. See how it works.
Each driver selected must be tested during the selection period (382.305(i)(3)). Once someone is picked, the clock matters: read how fast a driver has to report in our guide to DOT random drug test time limits.
Covered employees, and only covered employees. 49 CFR 382.305(j)(1) says all covered drivers must be in the pool. People who are not subject to testing, such as office staff who never drive a commercial vehicle, do not belong in it.
No. Adding people who are not covered changes the odds for the drivers who are, and the rule says only covered employees are in the pool. Keep the pool to the people the rule applies to.
Partly. The rule lets you use a service agent, such as a C/TPA, to run selections, and your drivers may sit in a larger pool. You still have to make sure the agent tests at the right percentage and that only covered employees are in the pool (49 CFR 382.305(j)(2)).
You can keep a separate pool for each group of employees subject to the same minimum rate, or select everyone at the highest rate that applies to you (49 CFR 382.305(o)). A driver covered by more than one agency is tested at the rate of the agency that regulates more than half of that driver's function (382.305(n)).
Yes. Each driver selected for testing must be tested during the selection period (49 CFR 382.305(i)(3)). That is one reason to keep selection periods short and to track each selected driver through to the result.
Your first selection is free, any pool size. No card, no sales call.