cdl/dui question

[grassroots]

I am a truckdriver from Ohio. Two of my very good friends, and co-workers (also truckdrivers) just got dui's on the same night. First offences for both of them. As of now they are suspended from work pending the outcome. It his quite possible, if not likely they both will not get these reduced resulting in them losing their jobs, (both over 20 years at our company) and quite possibly losing their homes. Why is it that the judge on down to the arresting officer along with any other type of worker in America can make a similar mistake, yet not lose their job? When did truckdrivers become the moral compass of the world? Is there a lawyer out there who has or is willing to take on these grossly unfair laws toward truckdrivers? I understand that .04% in a truck results in an automatic 1 year suspension. I have no problem with that. My issue is with our personal vehicles. Thank you.

 

[THANKS_4THEHELP]

Truck drivers are not

You asked "When did truck drivers become the moral compass of the world?" They are not, but most certainly they are held to a much higher standard when it comes to driving, it does not matter if it is in an 18 or 4 wheeler, a truck driver in a personal vehicle driving drunk can cause just as many people to be injured or killed as they could driving drunk behind the wheel of an 18 wheeler. If they have been loyal and good employees over the past years, perhaps the powers that be will find other positions for them so that they are able to stay with the company. As a holder of a class A CDL you are required to be a professional at all times, on and off duty, I do wish them the best, and hope the outcome is favorable for them both.

 

[ElvinMelvin]

When did truckdrivers become the moral compass of the world? .

They are not being held to a higher moral standard. They are being held to a professional standard that is higher than that of ordinary drivers, just like a physician is held to a higher standard than a guy who took a first aid course.

Remember that driving is not a right, it is a privilege. In exchange for the additional privilege of being allowed to drive commercially, the commercial driver is expected to drive in a professional manner at all times.

Your friends, after 20 years in the business, surely knew this. It should not have come as a surprise to them that if they got caught driving drunk they would put their livelihoods in jeopardy. They chose to drive while under the influence, putting their lives and the lives of others at risk. They knew better, but they did it anyway.

The fault is theirs. Not the courts or the arresting officers or the"system."

 

[grassroots]

Thank you for your responses. Just to clarify, my "moral compass" question was sarcastic in nature. Perhaps I shouldn't have used it. I understand all points being made, and am not blaming the system or anyone else on their bad decision nor are they. I am, however questioning the legality of that system. Driving certainly is a privilege and we should all drive in a professional manner at all times, and that would include the judge who will ultimately be deciding their fate as well as the physician. The difference being that if the judge or physician made a similar bad decision, and was convicted of dui, they would likely receive driving privileges to and from work and thus would not lose their job. We as truck drivers are not afforded that luxury and this strikes me as very unfair. Keep in mind that both of these incidents were in their personal vehicles. I am not disputing the penalty for dui in a commercial vehicle.

 

[lenny71]

I understand what you are saying. Ohio cdl-ovi penalties are particulary harsh as they come with a mandatory one year suspension of the cdl regardless of whether it was in a commercial or personal vehicle.

That said, this is common knowledge if you have an Ohio cdl. Really, the time to consider the strictness of the law is before you violate it.

Interestingly, you would also lose your pilots license for one year for a dui (and your job also). So basically, dui's are very serious especially in certains fields and that message is not getting through if two of your friends are in the same predicament.

I will also add that most major carriers will not hire drivers with an ovi history if they ship to Canada as they would be restricted access.

I agree it does not seem very fair. But you have only one license (the cdl) and that holds you to a higher standard no matter what vehicle you are driving (and includes all major violations - not just dui).

Personally, I think cdl holders should get lower insurance rates on their personal vehicles. That would be a whole other thread.

 

[dave33]

Are these guys protected from the union? Regardless, wouldn't their regular license be suspended anyway? Also, if they are not protected by the union, than most likely the company has some policy regarding these situations. That would be a completely different war. goodluck.

 

[HighwayMan]

Generally, CDL holders are responsible for operating large commercial vehicles which can be more dangerous than other vehicles on the road. A demonstrated careless attitude towards driving can be seen as a tendency towards that kind of behavior driving ANY vehicle, right or wrong.

The pilot example is a good one.

BTW Dave, a CDL can be suspended/revoked while the regular (non-CDL) driving privilege remains intact.

 

[grassroots]

Thanks again for the responses. I think it's fairly clear that I simply disagree with the basic premise that truck drivers should be held to a different standard in their personal vehicles.

To Lenny's point that "the time to consider the strictness of the law is before you violate it" I would only say that we (truck drivers) all know the law and the severity of it, and have most certainly changed our drinking habits over the years, but we are still human and capable of making mistakes just like anyone else on this forum.

I obviously have the benefit of knowing these 2 gentlemen, and can tell you in both cases they were last minute decisions to go to a retirement party for a longtime dispatcher. Were they bad decisions? Yes. Should their lives be turned upside down because of this one decision despite 20+ years exemplary service previous to this. My answer is no. To those who say yes, that strikes me as extremely harsh and lacking in compassion. Lenny, that comment is not directed at you nor any of you. I'm sure you all hope the best for these two.

To HighwayMan's point that "A demonstrated careless attitude towards driving can be seen as a tendency towards that kind of behavior driving ANY vehicle, right or wrong" I would respectively disagree.

In the case of one of my co-workers involved, he just recently (earlly summer) received his 1 million mile safe driving award. One million miles without an accident of any kind! A very dificult milestone to achieve, and one that is not taken lightly at our company or any trucking company. I think less than 10% of drivers nationwide achieve this.

Along with a cerimony, he received a jacket, a plaque, a letter from our company president as well as one from the governor of Ohio. So if the intent of this cdl/dui law is to weed out the safe truck drivers from the unsafe truck drivers, in this case it would be counter productive. You would be removing a proven safe driving veteran and replacing him with a lesser experienced driver and in theory, potentially more dangerous driver.

To Dave's question about the union, our company is non-union as is the majority of the industry these days, and as you stated, because it is the law the union would not be able to provide any protection.

Our company's policy, and most are fairly similar at other companies is the drivers are given up to 90 days to get it resolved on their own. If they get the charge reduced, fine, if not they are cut loose.

I think what I'd really be curious to know is if any of these laws have been challenged in court anywhere, and if they were to be, does anyone feel that they could be found unconstitutional or biased or prejudicial toward truck drivers or whatever the proper legal term may be despite what your personal views might be on the subject? The argument would be for 2 separate licenses.

I think we all would agree that if the laws were changed the other way, and everybody, regardless of what line of work they were in, were held to the same standards as truck drivers meaning that 1 dui conviction would result in them losing their jobs, the issue of dui would be greatly reduced.

 

[lenny71]

I think a lot of the problem comes out of the fact that cdl's are based on a compromise between the states and the federal government. Originally it was intended to be a single nationwide drivers license for all commercial drivers (replacing their state issued personal drivers license). The fed's had a lot of pull with their highway money, while the States wanted to retain their power to license drivers residing in their home states.

During the 80's when this concept of a universal license was forming the drinking age was increasing and the BAC was being lowered. Instead of a universal license we got a patchwork quilt which leans on the harder side.


The way to fight this is not in the criminal courthouse but in the legislature and voting booths. I know that it is a dying union but I believe that the teamsters support the cdl laws as they stand.

There are many people who would like to put all drivers up to the same standards as cdl holders. Unfortunately for them, those cards weren't on the table in 1986.

I do feel sorry for your friends. I am a big believer in the concept that when one door closes another one opens.

 

[dave33]

Grassroots, D.U.I. is a highly specialized area of criminal law. At this point I would pool all my financial resources and get the best attorney I could afford. There are many different reasons why certain cases are dismissed. Something that would never even cross your mind is a clear cut dismissal to the right attorney. Hopefully at the very least an expensive attorney can get it reduced. You can get the maximum penalty going pro-se. Consult an attorney or several until they say they can help. At the very least a high priced attorney should be able to get a reduction. goodluck.

 

[paguy88]

Remember that driving is not a right, it is a privilege

This is not 100% correct. I have went over this before and the supreme court ruling that involved this.