CDL DUI Laws
As a CDL Operator....
you must always be focused behind the wheel
of a vehicle, especially when off duty in a passenger car. As a professional owner operator, the last thing you want to be faced with is walking
in the house and explaining to your wife and kids that you just lost your source of family income for an unplanned period of time.
It's tough enough on a family to have a husband and a father on the road more often than he is home. THE CDL
DUI laws are changing and you need to be aware of the impact on your livelihood before you make a bad choice to get behind the wheel when you are
intoxicated.
Currently, The Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 (CMVSA) has a list of eight violations/offenses that can cost you your CDL if
convicted while driving a commercial vehicle. The proposed rule by the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FCMSA) in Washington
D.C, would require states to suspend or revoke a commercial licenses for violations committed in any vehicle driven by the CDL operator.
The violations that can currently cause your license to be suspended include:
 |
Reckless Driving |
 |
Mistakes leading to fatal accidents |
 |
The use of a commercial vehicle to commit a felony |
 |
Speeding |
 |
Improper or erratic land changes |
 |
Following too closely |
 |
Driving a CMV without a CDL in your possession |
 |
Driving a CMV without the proper class of CDL and/or the
endorsements required from the specific vehicle group being operatoed or for the passengers or type of cargo being transported. |
Though many states suspend licenses from the above infractions and other offenses such as drunken driving, excessive speeding and leaving the
scene of an accident, some CDL drivers have thrown themselves to the mercy of the court claiming the revocation of their CDL would ruin their
livelihood and are then allowed to take a driving course or be given probation for a set period of time.
This new rule would help eliminate loopholes such as this since it requires states to take
action. There will be some logistical problems with this new rule as some states view violations differently than others - ex. A parking ticket
could be a moving violation in one state and not in the other. And since truckers are often crossing state lines, this be very frustrating.
Ultimately, the goal is to keep the roads safe and make the drivers take responsibility for their actions regardless of what type of vehicle
they are driving; and according to early statistics at the FMCSA, the new rule, if approved could prevent up to 500 truck-related accidents per
year.-->
|