Pubdate: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 Source: Ocean City Today (MD) Copyright: 2010 Ocean City Today Contact: http://www.oceancitytoday.net/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5183 Author: Christine Cullen, Staff Writer TAXI DRIVER DRUG TESTING PROVES DIFFICULT TO DO (Aug. 13, 2010) Members of the Ocean City Police Commission expressed concern Wednesday that the new taxicab regulations do not allow for the strict enforcement of random drug testing for taxi drivers. The recently imposed regulations state that if a driver fails a drug test or does not take one within 24 hours of the request, the city can suspend the driver's permit. While this seems straightforward, both Police Commission officials and cab company owners say other issues are holding up the process. There are 57 taxi companies and 224 drivers licensed in Ocean City, but since the new regulations went into effect in the spring, only eight drivers have gone through random drug tests. The tests are paid for by the city, as the taxi regulations require. The city's Risk Management Office is in charge of setting up the random drug tests. Once a computer randomly picks a driver's number, Associate Risk Manager Christine Parks alerts the cab company owner that one of the drivers has been selected for the test. The office has been giving the drivers 24 hours to have the test done at Atlantic ImmediCare facility on 10th Street. But Parks told the Police Commission at its Wednesday afternoon session that 12 drivers have been selected so far, but only eight tests have been completed. Two of the drivers selected no longer work for those companies, she said, and the owners of the other two companies never returned her calls. Parks said she has had difficulty reaching some of the taxi company owners. She said she has left telephone messages and sent e-mails but received no response from some. "There's no hammer to put down on these people to get them to respond," she said. While the city can suspend the driver's permit for not taking the test, there is no provision enabling the city to take action against the owners if they don't follow through. "Let's chase after the owners of the company, period," Councilman Jim Hall said. The company owners are responsible for their drivers, Councilman Doug Cymek said, so he said they too should be punished if they do not see that their drivers are screened for drugs when requested. If the owners do not respond to the city's messages, he said they should lose the medallions that allow them to operate their taxis in town until the driver takes, and passes, the test. "We've got to deal with the medallion holder. That's where the leverage is," Cymek said. Many of the cab companies supported the random drug testing and applauded the city for covering the cost of the tests. Suspending a driver's permit if they fail the test is appropriate, said Classic Taxi owner Christy Freeman, but she felt that attacking the owner goes too far. "They definitely should be yanking driver permits over this. I don't want my driver driving you around town if he's high or if he's drunk. But I don't think they should be taking medallions over this issue," she said in an interview. Since many of the taxi drivers and owners work other full-time jobs during the day and only run the cabs at night, the commission believed that might be part of the reason why they are so difficult to reach by phone during City Hall's working hours. To remedy that, Council Secretary Lloyd Martin suggested randomly stopping cabs on the road and requiring the drivers to immediately get a drug test done. "Just snatch them off the street," Hall agreed. But the Police Department was not keen on that suggestion. Chief Bernadette DiPino said that would take police officers away from their regular duties and is an unnecessary use of manpower. The U.S. Coast Guard requires licensed mariners to provide proof of a negative drug test prior to employment and they are also subject to random drug testing, according to OCPD Capt. Victor Bunting. He said the vessel owners must ensure that testing is conducted when asked and supported Cymek's request to implement a similar system for Ocean City's taxis. The commission voted to have City Solicitor Guy Ayres draft an amendment to the taxi regulations that would allow the city to suspend the medallions of taxi owners if they do not see that their employees are tested when asked. The amendment must be approved by the full City Council. Freeman also wanted to see the random drug testing increased. When the city implemented the medallion system in March and required every taxi owner to pay $1,500 per medallion, she said the city officials pledged to enforce the rules. With only eight people tested since then, she said that promise has been broken. "They promised us they would raise the standard of the taxi driver. They said they would bring up the industry and make it a top-notch industry and they would do drug testing to make sure people are safe. With all due respect, they haven't stepped up to the plate," Freeman said. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D