Archive for July, 2010

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You have a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) and you have worked hard to get that special licensing endorsement.

You have endured the medical examinations and have met the standards as proscribed by federal regulations.

You have put in the hard work with the training requirements – up to 160 hours of hard work including classroom instruction and lab work.

Your CDL is important to you, and you earn your livelihood from your CDL.

You were aware that you could not drive with a breath/blood alcohol content (BAC) of a .04 when driving a commercial motor vehicle (CMV).

You were aware that a DUI in Washington State could cause you to lose your personal driver’s license.

What you didn’t know, was that if you have been arrested for a Washington State DUI, and you are a CDL holder, you could very well lose your CDL for at least one year.”How could this be?” “How can the DOL and the Federal Government take my CDL?” “Is there any way to fight to keep my CDL so I don’t lose my job?” These are the questions that I am often asked as a Washington DUI Lawyer who defends people in Washington State accused of a DUI.

Let me start by telling you about the history of the CDL and how the federal government is involved. First, Federal standards were adopted in 1986 with the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act (CMVSA). Before the CMVSA, there were only lose and inconsistent regulation between the states. With the adoption of the CMVSA, requirements were imposed on the driver, the employer, and the State. The influence of the Federal Government grew in 1999 when Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration was created. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration increased funding for enforcement of the CDL laws, as well as oversight. The biggest changes occurred in 2000, when disqualifications of the CDL were required for incidents for licensees even when they were driving NON Commercial Motor Vehicles! Disqualifications can occur even for “not so serious” violations. Do you think that the States could ignore the new regulations? No way, if they did so, they risk losing federal funding.

In my next post, I will talk about the types of incidents that can trigger a suspension or a disqualification of a CDL and dui regulations in the State of Washington.

If you have any questions about your privilege to drive with a CDL and DUI penalties in Washington State, please don’t hesitate to call my office at (425) 422-5818 or visit my website at www.washington-dui.com.