INFO ON DUI

younglobo

Expert Expediter
Getting Back to Hotrods original question and away from personal issues I think here in MO. you lose your CDL for 1 year with a DUI conviction, But that is not the lasting issue I know that the Insurance CO are making it alot harder to hire drivers with DUI and drug offenses on their drivin record. Insurance companies are tried of big payouts to folks that are injuried in accidents, their solution to this is to set criteria which make it immpossible for companies to Insure drivers with certain offenses on there record, we can not even consider a driver that has a Drinking or drug related offense not matter what the date or insurance company considers them uninsurable. My 2 cents for Hotrod would be get a GOOD attorney bust it to a minor offense then "think before you drink" I enjoy a beer or beverage to but you have to think after you get your CDL my job depends on me having this little card in my pocket.
 

finney

Expert Expediter
On the profession thing... truck driving is not a profession, it's unskilled labor. Name the Professional bodies that determine whether you can be a driver or not. Before what review board did you present your thesis on driving? I've got 31 years in this business and I've yet to meet anybody with a Doctorate in truck driving.

Should you drink and drive? No! However, please don't go dragging the "professional" line into this; it's not and it just confuses the issue. Drinking and driving have nothing to do with whether this is a profession or not.

It's just a job when all's said and done, and an unskilled one at that.

finney
 

TeamDrivers2

Expert Expediter
> You listen to this guy! Get a lawyer!

side-bar
I just wish the DOT was as strict with drivers that are Overweight and Obese as they are with DUI convictions. Last night at 3AM we were stopped by an accident. It appears this grossly over-weight driver either fell asleep or had a heart attack/stroke. There's no way half these guys could ever pass the DOT physical, tho , they all got current cards in their wallets. That kinda stuff scares just as much as any DUI driver.
 

Tennesseahawk

Veteran Expediter
Now you want DOT to stop obese drivers at the scale and check their cholesterol and blood pressure? Why not nip it in the bud and have them removed from the buffet?

Since I'm a smoker, they can check me for blood pressure.

I know of at least one diabetic who shouldn't be driving. Let's ban them all.

All old ppl are at risk to die, so maybe they should have an age limit.

They should get rid of all the drivers who have one arm. I mean... what if their other arm fell off?

Doesn't that sound a little rediculous? As much as I can't stand looking at a 5XL gut falling out of a XX shirt, it's not my place to say fat ppl can't drive. If it's my place, then I'd say ugly ppl can't either. But then, there'd be no one to drive at all... including me ;)
 

TeamDrivers2

Expert Expediter
>Doesn't that sound a little rediculous? As much as I can't
>stand looking at a 5XL gut falling out of a XX shirt, it's
>not my place to say fat ppl can't drive.




My only point is.....

Do you actually believe the XXX's have passed legit DOT physicals ??
 

late for dinner

Expert Expediter
Hotrod, do yourself a favor. Cut your losses and run. If you fight this thing the only winner is going to be your attorney. If your guilty then look for another job asap,, go to court and get it behind you. With Mothers Against Drunk Drivers and all the insurance companys and such, you are not going to be able to plea this down to anything.
 

Tennesseahawk

Veteran Expediter
Not sure. If you start pulling over fat ppl cause they look like they didn't pass a DOT physical; that's sort of like pulling over a black man cause it looks like he's hiding something.

I think it boils down to not enough of the doctors who do DOT physicals are legit. But I also think DOT sets the standards higher because they know some things will be fudged... just like logbooks.
 

greg334

Veteran Expediter
> On the profession thing... truck driving is not a
>profession, it's unskilled labor. Name the Professional
>bodies that determine whether you can be a driver or not.
>Before what review board did you present your thesis on
>driving? I've got 31 years in this business and I've yet to
>meet anybody with a Doctorate in truck driving.
>
> Should you drink and drive? No! However, please don't go
>dragging the "professional" line into this; it's not and it
>just confuses the issue. Drinking and driving have nothing
>to do with whether this is a profession or not.
>
> It's just a job when all's said and done, and an unskilled
>one at that.

Finney,

I just got around reading all the posts in this thread and reading your ‘profession’ comments – got to say your comment is why there is this attitude with the public’s impression of what a trucker is, a slobbly overweight stinky looking idiot that acts like a robot and is rude who just drives a truck at a low wage.

Profession – d**n straight it is, ever bit of it. It is not unskilled labor; it does not require a degree but who cares if it did. Driving a truck does require skill, the CDL is not something that everyone can get, skill is involved to pass the test.

The guy who taught me how to drive a truck back in the 70’s said something that sticks with me today; anyone can drive a truck, but the difference between the idiot and the professional truck driver is knowing what to do when something happens – your life and the lives of others around you depend on you knowing what to do.

I don’t care if you drove truck for 3 or 31 years, I hope you continue to drive safely for another 31 years but this is a profession - no doubt.

profession
Pronunciation: pr&-'fe-sh&n
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English professioun, from Old French profession, from Late Latin & Latin; Late Latin profession-, professio, from Latin, public declaration, from profitEri
1 : the act of taking the vows of a religious community
2 : an act of openly declaring or publicly claiming a belief, faith, or opinion : PROTESTATION
3 : an avowed religious faith
4 a : a calling requiring specialized knowledge and often long and intensive academic preparation b : a principal calling, vocation, or employment c : the whole body of persons engaged in a calling

oh yea, I know several people who have masters degrees and 2 with Doctorates - all drive truck. Yes the two doctorates are real, I worked with them in my last job and had a say in their hiring.
 

bryan

Veteran Expediter
Hi

more rules!!fewer drivers!!lower wages!!higher prices!!

If you disqualified all the over weight drivers and they say there is already a drivers shortage then the goverment will require the carriers to provide a weight loss program to all applicants.The carriers will say they don't have enough money to fund the program so the gov't will take funds out of the fuel tax fund to fund the program and of course they would have to have studies and administators.In short we would be driving on dirt roads in a couple of years.
 

FIS53

Veteran Expediter
Well I say fight it. Unfortunatly this will affect all your insurance costs for all vehicles, commercial and private. Up here they penalize a DUI or DWI for 5 years minimum. Most companies are now not hiring drivers with such an offence, although we can apply for a pardon and that allows for closing the record except for border crossing. If you do it again then the pardon is nullefied. One thing that I do question is some ppl have had a minor criminal offence in their past, like 20-30 years old and still companies and gov't penalize these ppl. Even though these ppl have been good citizens since (did something bad when they were 19 or 20). Can't these folks be forgiven or must we continue to ostracize?
Rob Fis
 

late for dinner

Expert Expediter
fis53 I'm with you! Why do people have to pay a heavy price for a lifetime. I'll bet there is not one single person that has not done something in their life that they are not ashamed of. Oh yea there is always someone who wont accept responsibility for anything but these people just dont know right from wrong.
 

Bob and Hooligan

Veteran Expediter
Charter Member
I had a dui in 1972 long before I started to drive professionaly. It has cause some problems. The Canadians say I can get a Minister's Pardon and be able to get the FAST cards etc. I can still take loads in and out of Canadam, and vacation there.

DUI is a serious offence. However I don't think someone should be punished for the rest of their lives.

It seems that professional drivers are treated more harshly than other professions. A driver can lose his ability to work for the rest of his life. However, others can become President of VP of the US anter getting a DUI.
 

whitewolf53

Expert Expediter
That charge should have been dismissed the moment that the cop was not there for court.If you hadn't been there their would have been a warrant out for your arrest,and you would have forfeited your bond money.
Isn't it funny how the law has two different faces??????
I do not condone drinking and driving by any means,but some people do screw up and then they have to pay the piper.Unfortunately for you it happened.and i will tell you that you had better have at least 5,000 dollars in the bank that you don't need.Because when all is said and done that is about what it is going to cost you.And you can thank the MADD MOTHERS for that,who sit in the court rooms and intimidate the judges by threating the judges with not getting re-elected if they don't come down hard on the people who drink and drive.
I rember a few years ago when the legal limit was .15 for being drunk,then they dropped it to .10 and now it is .08.Now would somebody please tell me why i am just as drunk at .15 as i am at .08??????????? Didn't think so.Because it is only money that they are interested in.
Good Luck To You,and yes i believe it is 5 yrs before you can get your CDL back.

Mike
Whitewolf 53

HERE LIZARD LIZARD LIZARD

:p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p
:9 :9 :9 :9 :9 :9 :9 :9
 

M A WEBSTER

Expert Expediter
ROAD HOOLIGAN That is what I'e been saying. Those that live in a glass house should not be throwing stones. I would say that 99% of these posts have made "A MISTAKE" a wrong decision.Its like putting your mouth in gear before engageing brain. I'm one to admit go out to dinner dancing have a few beers driving 3 miles back to the house.How in the H_ _ _ did people on here get to bashing the over weight people. Please You self rightious people All hot Rodd wanted to know was some answers to their question. I dont see anywhere in their post that said they drove any commerical velicles. Only that they had a CDL.
 

kingfisher

Seasoned Expediter
I'm a retired police sgt.. If this is your first time and your driving record or criminal record is minimal,get yourself a good attorney who practices in the court where you are having your case held.Ask around because good attorneys know which judges will be likely to accept a plea bargain and who won't. You would be amazed what DUI charges can be reduced to. Spend the money because it will pay for itself many times over compared to a conviction.
 

cheri1122

Veteran Expediter
Driver
While I totally agree that 90% of DUIs are repeat offenders, & should be penalized with a sledgehammer, I have to admit that there are those first time offenders who don't need to have their livelihood denied, in order to learn their lesson. Particularly since dumb luck plays such a major role in who gets caught. I have never gotten a DUI, or DWI, but there was a time, when I could have - as someone said, attitudes were different many years ago.
Now, insurance companies have the final say on who is fit to drive, and they don't care if you ever work again, they exist to make a profit, and maximize it, by eliminating potential risks. If they feel you're a potential risk, you don't drive - period.
So, if you're one of the unlucky ones, but not one of the ones who are so incredibly stupid they'd do it again - fight it. Unless you'd rather earn your living some other way...
 

dhalltoyo

Veteran Expediter
Thank God you are retired!

You forget to renew your license, that's a mistake! Nobody dies! Get a clue. You get behind the wheel of any (ANY, ANY, ANY) motor vehicle and you are intoxicated now that's a crime.

Why?

The potential for killing someone else is great than you walking around drunk with a loaded handgun! I'd rather dodge 38 caliber slugs than a 6 to 10 foot wide chunk of steel weighing between 2,000 and 80,000 lbs!!!!

Does anybody understand physics?????

And like I said earlier, it ain't one mistake. DUI/DWI offenders are repeat offenders more than 95% the time. And if someone just might happen to be one of the 5% that actually gets sober, the risk is still too great!!!

Sorry, but justice demands that occassionally an innocent person does go to jail. It is not a perfect world so let's get off the utopia mentality and start smelling that brand of coffee known as reality.
 
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