COMMERCIAL DRIVER RESOURCE PAGE
Welcome to the war zone! You may wonder why I say that but you have landed on our Alabama Commercial Driver Resource Page. Why do we call this a war zone? Because the entire country has declared war on commercial driver license holders in Alabama and in other states. Weekly with many clients we have discussions about the war on CDL license holders.
The war that is being fought on the ground related to commercial driver’s license holders is all done in the name of “safety”. If it is done in the name of safety then why don’t the federal government eliminate the things on the road that cause the most deaths and the most accidents involving 18 wheelers. Those would be double trailers being pulled by a single tractor. You take a wild guess as to who pulls the most double trailers and the money that they spend in Washington DC on lobbying for these regulations.
There is no question that a commercial driver that has a history of speeding or of alcohol use while in a commercial motor vehicle can be very dangerous. However, a commercial driver who simply made a mistake and could possibly lose his license or his job for that mistake is absurd in my opinion.
You can have cocaine in your pocket and be charged with a felony criminal offense and have a better chance of resolving the case favorably and getting a dismissal of a felony drug charge than you can in some courts across the country for traveling five miles per hour, ten miles per hour or 15 miles per hour over the speed limit in a commercial motor vehicle. This is a disgrace and it is an absurd result.
What bothers me the most is that for conviction purposes and for other purposes you don’t even have to be in the commercial motor vehicle for it to have far reaching effects on you and your career. You could be late to church on a Sunday morning and be driving 71 miles per hour in a 55 zone and be ticketed and have your employer tell you that you are having to be terminated because they cannot accept the risk of having you driving one of their vehicles. Also, if you refuse to take a breathalyzer test when pulled over even in your personal vehicle your commercial driver’s license can be suspended or revoked for one year and if you do it twice you will lose your CDL for life. How absurd is this result?
I would never argue that big trucks are safe. If there is an accident between a big truck and a vehicle that is a normal size generally the big truck will always win. However, we are a society that loves our stuff and just about everything that you will put your hands on was delivered in a big truck. The way we have created our society is that no one can possibly make it without touching something delivered in a big truck.
Please check out the resources below and if you are a commercial driver and have questions about your case or need help with your case call us today. We look forward to helping you soon.