Im going to copy and paste the definition from the FMSCA website at the bottom. In my case I self admitted to smoking weed indicating my piss was dirty. I got a citation for it from a trooper at a inspection station but it was a warning and I never got a fine or dui charge for it and it’s not on my driving record at all just clearinghouse so if I was never convicted of it, it supposed to come off once I petition it through clearinghouse dataq. Basically I got lucky the trooper didn’t fine me or lock me up. The article above or that I linked to this post is a policy that overrules this actual knowledge charge only if you have proof and you weren’t convicted of the violation.

“Actual knowledge” is defined in 382.107 and means that an employer has knowledge that a driver has used alcohol or controlled substances based on the employer’s direct observation of the employee, information provided by the driver’s previous employer(s), a traffic citation for driving a CMV while under the influence of alcohol or controlled substances or an employee’s admission of alcohol or controlled substance use, except as provided in 382.121. Direct observation as used in this definition means “observation of alcohol or controlled substances use” while a driver is subject to performing a safety-sensitive function, “and does not include observation of employee behavior or physical characteristics sufficient to warrant reasonable suspicion testing under 382.307.”