Mr. CDL
I recently met an attorney who specializes in DUI/DWI defense working defendants who hold their Commercial Drivers License.
I’ve known several friends of the years who have been arrested for Driving Under the Influence or Driving While Intoxicated as it’s still known in Kansas City. I have been quick to condemn them for their poor choices and the selfish endangerment of the passengers who may be in the car with them, other drivers on the road and the pedestrians that they might mow down.
Consider this: A man who holds his CDL is pulled over for a traffic violation in his personal vehicle and during the course of the stop, is asked to take a field sobriety test which he fails. As part of his sentence, not only is his personal licence suspended, his CDL is suspended as well.
Mr. CDL has his own 2008 Peterbuilt 386 on which he still owes $130,000. With his CDL suspended, he can’t drive the truck (how he earns his living) which averages $80,00o annually. He defaults on his loan and the truck is repossessed. The financial strain of his un and under employment puts crushing stress on his marriage culminating in divorce. With primary custody awarded to the mother, Mr. CDL takes a job for $8.50 an hour or $17,680 a year (pre-tax). Remember, this is someone who drove a truck for a living so I think it may be safe to make some broad assumptions about Mr. CDLS’s ability to get another job that pays him what he made as a trucker. After tax and social security contributions, Mr. CDL has a take-home pay of approximately $14,142 annually. From that, Mr. CDL will pay approximately $1021 a month for his two children leaving him with an annual balance of $1890 for the year. He’ll likely default on his child support payments either skipping them all together or not paying the full amount which will lead to a wage garnishment he’ll avoid by going off the grid; taking odd jobs that pay under the table.
I don’t expect anyone to to feel sorry for Mr. CDL for his choice to drink and drive. I just want to point out that there might be another way to render judgement that doesn’t involve taking away his CDL licence which is the most punitive to Mr. CDL’s children. Everyone loses.
On the front end, it’s easy to make this a cautionary take ab0ut drinking and driving which it is, but it’s so much more. When we strip someone of their ability to earn an income, whether they “have it coming to them” or not doesn’t much matter because by the time the fallout is complete, the body count is 10 deep and bloody.
Not every lawyer is a bottom feeder and I’m grateful to have met one who defends what I’d considered indefensible.
As someone who used to drink and drive and should have been put in jail with my car confiscated on more than one occasion, I have mixed emotions. I still drink and I still drive. Just not together. Maybe a solution would be to let someone like this keep their CDL and restrict regular driving to come to work and go home. But you’d have to be sure that the person has a clean record without other convictions, etc. Not sure what the right solution is…
I will be the first to say that I believe that people who get tanked and drive their vehicle have no real care for others. I am glad when they are found, stopped, and prosecuted for their carelessness and risk they pose to the rest of us.That being said, there are a couple of things that should be noted here – not the least of which is the fact that not everyone who gets a DUI / DWI is “tanked”.When driving a personal vehicle, how many of you have had a glass of wine before driving? A beer? So where is the line? We make an assumption that all DWI / DUI offenders are the demon spawn of alcoholic binging and carelessness. The reality is that some actually are, but most are just either ignorant of the laws thinking 1 beer is OK b/c it’s under the limit, or just plain uninformed. You can easily get hit with a DWI even if you are not over the legal limit – in many states it is an area of gray that can be expanded based on the judgment of the officer. Getting hit with the “Impaired” label and picking up a DWI is pretty easy(Maryland is infamous for this). There is a difference b/w DWI and DUI – they are not synonymous, but different states treat them in different ways – as is their right to do so. So what is the solution? I think common sense goes a long way. i.e. – If you want to make sure that you do not get a DUI or DWI, you just shouldn’t drink and drive. Period. Especially if your livelihood is at risk.It’s too bad that Joe Shmoe didn’t figure that out before getting hit with his DUI charge dramatically altering his life, but he has a responsibility to himself and his family to be smart enough to never be in a position where there is even a suspicion of him being impaired by any substance while driving. His livelihood depends on it. It’s called being responsible. As far as the law is concerned, ignorance is no excuse.
He who defends the indefensible found it a pleasure to meet you as well.