PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

How a Texas DWI/DUI Could Affect Your Commercial Driver's License

A commercial driver's license holder faces additional penalties if convicted of DWI.

2012-09-28
September 28, 2012 (Press-News.org) If the driver of a sedan is pulled over and charged with DWI, it can cause some challenges. The inconvenience of a suspended license, the possibility of jail time, as well as the financial hit caused by hefty fines, the court fees and the increased insurance premiums are all significant consequences that no one wants to face. If the driver of a semi truck or other commercial driver's license holder is convicted of DUI, though, the penalties are even steeper.

Commercial License DWI/DUI

The larger the vehicle, the more possibility for damage in the event of an accident. Semi trucks and 18-wheelers are some of the biggest vehicles on the road, and people driving them must have special instruction. Commercial driver's licenses (CDLs) are only available to those drivers who have received training and are skilled enough to deal with the unique challenges that come along with operating a larger, more complicated vehicle.

In nearly every American jurisdiction, a passenger vehicle driver is legally intoxicated with a blood alcohol level of .08. That number is much smaller for a CDL operator; instead of a blood alcohol concentration of .08, commercial drivers are considered to be legally intoxicated with an alcohol level of .04, half that of a standard license holder.

Commercial drivers are also treated differently when it comes to detecting alcohol. Passenger vehicle drivers can only be tested if a law enforcement officer has probable cause to think that they are under the influence (i.e. swerving, driving erratically, smelling of alcohol, etc.), but CDL drivers are held to standards set forth by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT).

The stricter FMCSA and USDOT regulations allow for driver breath or blood alcohol testing:
- At random
- When a driver is suspected of being under the influence
- When a driver who has previously had his or her CDL suspended is returning to full-time duty
- After a crash where alcohol is suspected to have been involved

The penalties for commercial driver DWI/DUI are also more severe, since they hit right at the heart of a driver's livelihood. When a commercial driver is convicted of DWI, he or she loses his license for a minimum of one year. There is the possibility of an appeal to the license revocation, but appeals are rarely successful. This means that a CDL holder will not be able to drive at all for a year, or for three years if he happened to be transporting hazardous materials at the time of the DWI arrest. Another important note is that the increased scrutiny given to CDL drivers applies even if he or she is operating a passenger vehicle at the time of the arrest.

Since a CDL driver facing a Texas DWI/DUI faces such severe consequences, the charges must be fought aggressively. If you or a loved one is facing a commercial license holder charged with DWI, seek the advice of a skilled criminal defense attorney in your area who can protect your rights and fight the system on your behalf.

Article provided by Kyle Simpson & Charles Gold
Visit us at www.yourtexasdwi.com/


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Connecticut Foreclosure Rates Double: What Can Homeowners Do?

2012-09-28
Recent news regarding foreclosure rates in Connecticut shows that plenty of homeowners are still in peril of losing their homes due to financial distress. Real estate analysts disclosed that Connecticut's foreclosure rate more than doubled between July 2011 and July 2012. Looking at current foreclosure rates on the regional level, New Haven County had the second highest rate in the state, with one in every 854 housing units in the county in foreclosure. In Fairfield County, the rate is slightly better at one of every 903 units, but the rate is much higher in cities like ...

196 Billion Text Messages: Distracted Driving is the New Drunk Driving

2012-09-28
Ubiquitous. Definition: existing everywhere, present everywhere at once or seeming to be. The cellphone is ubiquitous. No matter where you go, whether to the store, restaurants, bars, parks, movies, streets and cars. Today, cars seem to have become the new phone booths. Many drivers are on the phone before they have even backed the car out of the driveway. Is Anyone Paying Attention? How could they be? The phones are so enticing. Not just talking, but texting, surfing the web, shopping (one click!), checking sports scores, updating Facebook, who has time to watch ...

South Carolina Task Force Aims to Reduce DUI with More Roadblocks

2012-09-28
The Community Action for a Safer Tomorrow Coalition (CAST) has announced that the local community is going to increase its efforts to reduce drunk driving accidents and underage drinking. The members of CAST are a taskforce of local police, highway control, representatives from the local school district and other community members. Together they plan to provide more education, more DUI checkpoints and more training for law enforcement to deter people from driving under the influence. CAST has revealed that since March 1, 2012, the police have conducted 46 DUI checkpoints ...

Some Repeat DWI Offenders Receive Probation

2012-09-28
While more law enforcement agencies are moving towards "no refusal" protocols to take suspected drunk drivers off the road, those who are convicted are more likely to receive probation rather than jail time. Indeed, probation is common for first time offenders as many accept the terms of probation. However, a growing number of repeat offenders are receiving probation; even those convicted of their third DWI. According to a report by WOAI.com (WOAI 4 News), just over half of all felony DWI offenders across all Bexar County District Courts receive probation in cases ...

More Older Americans at Risk of Foreclosure

2012-09-28
While reports emerge about the nation's improving housing market, the effects of the ongoing foreclosure crisis still affects millions of Americans, especially the elderly. The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) recently reported that nearly than 600,000 people age 50 and older are facing foreclosure, and an estimated 625,000 are at least 90 days delinquent on their mortgage payments. At the end of 2011, nearly three percent of loans held by older Americans had been foreclosed; eight times the number of foreclosures affecting older homeowners in 2007 (the year ...

Older Homeowners Hit Hard by Housing Crash

2012-09-28
Jewel Lewis-Hall, 57, works two jobs. Her husband lost his job at a farmer's market and has been unable to earn much money since. They live a fairly modest lifestyle, driving a 1991 car for example, but they are still unable to make enough money to pay the mortgage on their Washington home. They had been making late payments for around a year when the dreaded foreclosure letter arrived. Now, what was once a bright future is much less certain and hopeful. The housing market crash hit older Americans particularly hard. According to a new AARP Public Policy Institute report, ...

Chicago's Ralph E. Meczyk Played a Vital Role in Peterson Defense

2012-09-28
In a high-profile criminal matter like the recent murder trial of Drew Peterson, the testimony of one witness can make or break the case. Chicago criminal defense attorney Ralph E. Meczyk demonstrated the importance of effective cross-examination in the Peterson trial, exposing important nuances in witness testimony. One of six defense attorneys representing Peterson, Meczyk avoided the media spotlight throughout the course of the trial. "It's not my style," he explained to the Chicago Tribune. Instead, he chose to shine inside the courtroom, specifically ...

Virginia Government Takes Important Step Toward Reducing Eyewitness Misidentification

2012-09-28
It is a question faced by law enforcement agencies around the country: are eyewitness identifications trustworthy? Research performed by The Innocence Project indicates that they aren't. Innocence Project figures reveal that up to 75 percent of cases wherein a wrongfully convicted individual's innocence was proven by DNA testing involved a misidentification by an eyewitness. Virginia's Eyewitness Identification Policies Fourteen of The Innocence Project's 289 overturned wrongful convictions have been in Virginia. As a result, the Commonwealth's law enforcement agencies ...

Washington Governor to Take New Look At Sex Offender Identity Disclosure

2012-09-28
On August 3, Washington governor Christine Gregoire visited Prosser as part of a two-day tour of the state. One of the questions posed to Governor Gregoire in Prosser concerned her stance on a state law policy recently revealed by a new government report. A performance report conducted by the state auditor's office was released just prior to the governor's visit, and its main focus was sex offenders in child care, foster care and school settings. According to data in the report, 28 registered sex offenders lived in state regulated or subsidized child care settings during ...

Driving Drowsy Is as Irresponsible as Driving Drunk

2012-09-28
The state of Florida held its Drowsy Driving Awareness Week in early September, 2012, in honor of a little Tallahassee girl who died when a cement truck hit the vehicle she was riding in. Tragically, the truck driver had fallen asleep at the wheel. The Florida Department of Transportation reports that in 2011, drowsy drivers were involved in almost 3,000 road accidents in the state. In those crashes, 2,393 people were hurt and 21 died. Not only are people at risk of falling asleep when they drive while too tired, but also their response times and alertness are dulled. ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Thirty-year mystery of dissonance in the “ringing” of black holes explained

Less intensive works best for agricultural soil

Arctic rivers project receives “national champion” designation from frontiers foundation

Computational biology paves the way for new ALS tests

Study offers new hope for babies born with opioid withdrawal syndrome

UT, Volkswagen Group of America celebrate research partnership

New Medicare program could dramatically improve affordability for cancer drugs – if patients enroll

Are ‘zombie’ skin cells harmful or helpful? The answer may be in their shapes

University of Cincinnati Cancer Center presents research at AACR 2025

Head and neck, breast, lung and survivorship studies headline Dana-Farber research at AACR Annual Meeting 2025

AACR: Researchers share promising results from MD Anderson clinical trials

New research explains why our waistlines expand in middle age

Advancements in muon detection: Taishan Antineutrino Observatory's innovative top veto tracker

Chips off the old block

Microvascular decompression combined with nerve combing for atypical trigeminal neuralgia

Cutting the complexity from digital carpentry

Lung immune cell type “quietly” controls inflammation in COVID-19

Fiscal impact of expanded Medicare coverage for GLP-1 receptor agonists to treat obesity

State and sociodemographic trends in US cigarette smoking with future projections

Young adults drive historic decline in smoking

NFCR congratulates Dr. Robert C. Bast, Jr. on receiving the AACR-Daniel D. Von Hoff Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and Training in Cancer Research

Chimpanzee stem cells offer new insights into early embryonic development

This injected protein-like polymer helps tissues heal after a heart attack

FlexTech inaugural issue launches, pioneering interdisciplinary innovation in flexible technology

In Down syndrome mice, 40Hz light and sound improve cognition, neurogenesis, connectivity

Methyl eugenol: potential to inhibit oxidative stress, address related diseases, and its toxicological effects

A vascularized multilayer chip reveals shear stress-induced angiogenesis in diverse fluid conditions

AI helps unravel a cause of Alzheimer's disease and identify a therapeutic candidate

Coalition of Autism Scientists critiques US Department of Health and Human Services Autism Research Initiative

Structure dictates effectiveness, safety in nanomedicine

[Press-News.org] How a Texas DWI/DUI Could Affect Your Commercial Driver's License
A commercial driver's license holder faces additional penalties if convicted of DWI.