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Atlanta is the logistics and freight capital of the southeast without any doubt. The Interstates 285, 75, 85, and 20 intersect each other, which is why tens of thousands of commercial drivers have to transit through the Metro area on a daily basis. In the case of these men and women, a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) is not merely a plastic item but their profession, their enterprise, and their means of livelihood.
Most commercial operators are very keen in the process of driving their rig, well aware of the harsh rules that surround commercial trucks. Nevertheless, a huge legal pitfall surprises most logistics specialists: personal vehicle DUI when one is entirely off duty.
When a commercial driver with impaired driving charges in his or her personal car, the normal rulebook of the law will not rescue his or her career. You need the rough arm of an esteemed Atlanta DUI Attorney to come in and save the life of your livelihood permanently.
The Personal vehicle Myth and the FMCSA Regulations.
Some holders of CDLs are misinformed that they will not be affected in their commercial status as long as they are not operating an 18-wheeler as a result of a typical mistake that happens on the weekend. This is absolutely untrue under the Georgia laws as well as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) laws.
When using a commercial motor vehicle, the legal alcohol content (BAC) limit is a rigorous 0.04% but in the case of personal automobile, the legal standard is 0.08%. But in a more personal vehicle, having been found guilty of a typical DUI, the ramifications directly spill over to your commercial driving rights.
The mandatory and hard one-year disqualification of your CDL in Georgia is the first-time conviction of DUI without regard to what car you are driving. In case your shipment concerned dangerous goods, that suspension increases to three years. Yet a second conviction of DUI in your lifetime, decades later, means that you will never have a CDL.
The Destroying Reality: No Unrestricted Authorizations to CDLs.
To the typical Atlanta commuter, a first-time DUI will probably mean a suspended driver license, although they can usually be issued with an Ignition Interlock Device limited driving permit or a hardship license to travel between their job and their office.
The same cannot be said of commercial drivers.
The federal and state law permits a suspended CDL to receive zero limited permits, hardship exemption, or route-restricted license. In case your commercial license is disqualified one year, it is illegal to drive a commercial vehicle within one year. A truck driver or an independent owner-operator or even a heavy equipment driver can afford a night out in the Buckhead or Midtown, and the result is one year of no work and possibly a loss of all his or her financial prosperity.
That is why this absolute zero-tolerance position has found this keeping Atlanta DUI Attorney as the most valuable career investment you can undertake after an arrest.
The 30 Days Notice: ALS Threat.
Your CDL under attack is not new to your initial criminal court appearance. Arresting an officer in Georgia to commit a DUI normally prepares one form and forwards it to the driver to activate an Administrative License Suspension (ALS) on his or her driving license. This occurs when you decline to undergo a chemical test (breath, blood or urine) or when you fail to do so within the legal limit.
You must within 30 days of the date of your arrest appeal in order to have your case reviewed by ALS. Failure to meet this deadline will result in the suspension of your regular driver license and this will automatically lead to the disqualification of your CDL without the judge even having heard the actual facts of your criminal case. To appeal the administrative suspension and be on the road until the criminal trial, a qualified DUI Attorney Atlanta will provide the appeal right away.
The Defence of the Commercial Driver.
Due to the absolute stakes, the defense plan on behalf of a CDL holder should be perfect. Any plea bargain of a regular DUI is the loss of a commercial driver. The accepted results are only full dismissal, acquittal during trial or a downgrade to a non-dui offense, e.g. reckless driving which does not qualify as a disqualifying claim.
Attorney James Yeargan and his law firm are fully aware of what is at stake with the logistics workers in Georgia. We examine the footage of the body camera of the arresting officer, question the legality of the traffic stop, and tirelessly criticize the legitimacy of wildly subjective field sobriety checks and the accuracy of breathalyzers.
It is not a job to be left to a general practitioner. In the event of the loss of your CDL, you require a specialized DUI Lawyer Atlanta with the knowledge of state traffic laws and federal regulations of the FMCSA.
Act now to save your license, your rig and the future of your family.
