Prescription and Over-the-Counter Medications Tool Kit ... - Home

Introduction
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued a directive to the Federal Transit
Administration (FTA) to educate transit agencies on the potential safety risks associated with the
use of prescription (Rx) and over-the-counter (OTC) medications by employees who perform
safety-sensitive duties. NTSB recommended that all transit rail agencies require employees in
safety-sensitive positions to inform their agency about their use of Rx and OTC medications.
This will enable the agency to have qualified medical personnel determine the potential effects of
the medicines on employee performance, and to train the employees about their responsibility
under the agency’s policy.
In May 2000, in response to the NTSB directive, the Acting FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez
issued a “Dear Colleague” letter to all recipients of FTA funding requesting that they review
current policies on employees’ use of OTC and Rx medications that could compromise public
safety and establish a program to educate safety-sensitive employees about the potential dangers
associated with the use of Rx and OTC medications.
To assist the transit agencies in responding to the Administrator’s challenge, FTA has assembled
this tool kit of example practices for ensuring the safe use of medications by safety-sensitive
employees. The examples include six current transit agency policies; forms, lists, and other
procedures used by five transit agencies to implement their policies; and various training aids
ranging from several short awareness pamphlets to comprehensive training programs and
presentations. Each of these many examples includes an information sheet containing a
summary of the contents and an analysis of the example’s advantages and disadvantages. The kit
also contains two forms recommended by FTA for use by transit agencies to ensure that use of
Rx and OTC medications are identified in FTA drug and alcohol post-accident investigations.
The tool kit contains four sections:
• Policies
• Procedures
• Training Aid
• Post-Accident Procedures
It also contains two appendices:
• Several lists of Rx and OTC medications used by various federal and private agencies
• References and Resources