What Happens When A Commercial Driver’s License Holder Is Arrested For DUI?
If a commercial driver’s license holder is arrested and/or convicted of a DUI, their commercial driver’s license is taken away for one year. It is possible to attempt to fight that but depending on the facts of the case, depending on blood alcohol content, it may be inevitable that they are going to lose their commercial driver’s license for at least that amount of time on a first-time offense.
What Are The Consequences Of A Second-time Offense On A Commercial Driver’s License?
Second-time offense, at least out of the State of Arizona, is a lifetime ban from having a commercial driver’s license. That doesn’t mean that someone who has a commercial driver’s license is not able to drive their non-commercial vehicle. They can still drive their civilian vehicle but it takes away their ability to operate a commercial vehicle on a commercial driver’s license.
What Are Some Other Consequences For CDL License Holders After A DUI Conviction?
Simply for being arrested and having a commercial driver’s license, it does not matter whether the person was actually operating a commercial vehicle at the time. If a person has a commercial driver’s license but was driving around in their civilian car, got pulled over and was arrested for a DUI in their civilian vehicle, the Arizona Department of Transportation is going to attempt to suspend their commercial driver’s license as well for one year. That can be fought but if a person is convicted of a DUI, they are going to end up losing their commercial driver’s license for at least one year as long as that was their first DUI offense.
The problem is that if the commercial driver’s license holder ends up being convicted of a DUI, in nearly every circumstance, a person who is convicted is going to be required to have an ignition interlock device on any vehicle they operate for anywhere from six months up to 18 months on a first-time misdemeanor offense. There is no work exception, which means that if someone has a commercial driver’s license, depending on what type of DUI conviction they have received, if any, there may come a point where they are eligible to reinstate their commercial driver’s license. However, they would have to have an ignition interlock device on their commercial vehicle.
For most people who do not own their own commercial vehicle, their employer is not going to be willing to allow someone to install an ignition interlock device on a commercial vehicle.
When talking about DUIs in the State of Arizona, people with a commercial driver’s license tend to have a lot more problems than the average person, especially if that is their primary form of employment. Most people do need to find other professions, either within the same company or find employment elsewhere because there are huge pitfalls and huge downfalls to dealing with a DUI in Arizona while being a possessor of a commercial driver’s license.
Read about the Effects Of A DUI On Commercial Driver’s License Holders or call the Law Offices of Brian D. Sloan for a FREE Initial Consultation at 480-900-0384 or 602-900-0384 and get the information and legal answers you’re seeking.
