NAFA's St. Louis Gateway Chapter Tackles Substance Abuse Behind The Wheel

Print this Article | Send to Colleague

Substance abuse is one of the most serious and controversial topics in fleet, as NAFA's St. Louis Gateway Chapter is aware of...but how in-depth can we truly get? Few things can disrupt a fleet on so many levels as can a driver who has substance impairment and dependency issues, both from a legal and liability aspect and from the safety angle. These drivers can harm others as mush as themselves if they get behind a steering wheel, so it is imperative that a fleet manager has the ability to identify these at-risk employees before they cause a crash.

This December meeting was held at the Train Depot in Kirkwood. As we were enjoying lunch, we were given a presentation by a representative of KirkCare, a charitable organization in the Kirkwood, MO area. They help families in need by paying utility bills, and providing food and clothing. The organization has been around for more than thirty years. Monetary donations were taken in addition to a donation of $250 by the St. Louis Chapter. Other donations were non-perishable food items brought in by those attending the meeting.

The first of two presentations was given by Midwest Regional Trustee Sandy Leonard. He spoke about the benefits of NAFA membership, outlining resources such as the Institute & Expo (I&E) and NAFA webinars. He asked how we had been helped by NAFA membership and how NAFA can help provide solutions. Several answered that they were pleased with knowing the best practices in the industry and that NAFA has online resources to help fleet managers in their daily activities. He went on to talk about CAFM^®/CAFS certification and the new NAFA Sustainable Fleet Accreditation Program.

The next presentation was given by Therapist Angie Kopec, who spoke to attendees about drug and alcohol addiction in the workplace. First she discussed the difficulties in overcoming addiction, then she gave us a few statistics. For example:

70 percent of all substance abusers are in the workplace
90 percent of alcoholics are in the workplace
There are 23 million regular marijuana users
Drug and alcohol abusers are 10 times more likely to call in sick
Drug and alcohol abusers are 5 times more likely to file a worker’s compensation claim

Angie also explained that prescription drug abuse is on the rise, the greatest increase being opiate abuse. Many personal stories were shared. She then went in to how to identify a possible substance abuser in the workplace. After that, she discussed ways to decrease stress level, such as getting more exercise, meditation and breathing, and eating less processed food.

Special thanks to Lisa Geringer, CAFM^® and Chris Wenom for material in this article.

Back to NAFA Connection