We HATE companies that sell on fear. However, that does not mean there aren’t consequences for not participating in a random drug program when you are required to.
Failure to implement and maintain a drug and alcohol testing program is considered 1 of the 7 deadly sins of DOT compliance.
For drivers, it is now required that Consortium/Third Party Administrators (C/TPA), collection sites, and Medical Review Officers (MRO) report violations to the Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse. This will invalidate a drivers CDL until they participate in a SAP program.
For carriers, it is rare that a DOT office during an audit would not put you our of service until you are compliant and fines will be dependent on your revenue (those $10k fines others talk about would be for mega carriers).
For New Entrant Audit, there are no fines and if you are not compliant by close of your audit, regulations state you will be put out of service for 30-days.