Forty-two percent of work injuries resulting in disability involve either struck by or struck against injuries or falls. The cost to the worker and the workers dependents is incalculable. These accidents are caused by lack of vigilance, poor discrimination and failure to react quickly enough.
Loss of balance is an additional factor in falls.
In an effort to reduce this toll, many companies have undertaken drug testing programs hoping to identify individuals more likely to have accidents due to impairment. By focusing only on drug levels in body fluids, drug testing often fails to identify workers who are unable to safety perform their assigned tasks for reasons not related to drugs. Performance Testing evaluates the ability to function at an acceptable level. Poor performance is detected by these tests, no matter what the cause. If a driver fails to react quickly or make appropriate choices during a performance test, that employee should not operate a vehicle until the level of performance improves.