You depend on your commercial driver’s license (CDL) as a truck driver. If it gets revoked, you won’t be able to work, putting your finances in danger. To prevent this, you need to drive safely, of course. However, there are a few scenarios where you may lose your CDL even if you did nothing wrong.
Learn how to protect your CDL here.
Avoid Violations
The most crucial part of protecting your CDL and staying safe on the road is, of course, avoiding violations. Some of the things that can put points on your license:
- Expired documents
- Exceeding the gross vehicle weight limit
- Exceeding the legal truck length or height
- Speeding, parking, and traffic tickets
- Defective lights and other equipment failures
- Logbook errors and omissions
Most states use a point system to track careless or dangerous drivers. In other states, they track the number of violations and their categorization instead of assigning points. Committing a number of them will incur a CDL revocation or disqualification. How many will cause revocation or a violation depends on the state. In Washington, for example, the regulations are as follows:
- 2 serious traffic violations within 3 years: 60-day revocation
- 3 serious traffic violations within 3 years: 120-day revocation
- Major violation: 1-year minimum disqualification
Some serious violations include speeding at more than 15 mph, reckless driving, failure to yield, and failure to stop for an accident. Major violations include:
- Refusing a chemical test
- Driving under the influence
- Operating a CMV with a revoked license
- Causing a CMV-related fatality due to negligence
Get Regular Maintenance
Always perform a circle check on your truck at the start of the day. If you find anything that violates the regulations set by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association (FMCSA), report it immediately. But don’t rely solely on circle checks. Some issues aren’t immediately visible and need a mechanic to find them.
The FMCSA requires at least one periodic maintenance inspection for commercial motor vehicles every year. However, your truck will likely need more due to it experiencing more wear and tear than the average vehicle. Keep up with a regular maintenance schedule to minimize any risks.
Should you be driving a truck your company owns, you shouldn’t be held responsible for incidents caused by an issue that isn’t identifiable in a circle check. After all, you’re a driver, not a mechanic.
But if you find one and report it, and your company pushes you to use it anyway, you must make the call. This brings us to our next point.
Take Responsibility for Yourself and Your Truck
If you drive a truck with faulty equipment, you significantly increase your chances of getting into a road accident. Fatalities are more likely to happen when trucks are involved due to their large size and weight. Should this happen, there is a good chance you will lose your CDL.
You will be held responsible for an accident if the issues with your truck should have reasonably been known to you, regardless of whether you or your company owns it.
For example, a broken headlight is an easy problem to spot. If you drive with full knowledge of it or neglect to inspect the truck before driving, you will be held liable for any issues it causes.
If your company pushes you to use faulty equipment, you have to make the call. You either use it and risk losing your CDL or refuse and displease your company. In many cases, the latter is better.
If your supervisor fires you, you’ll be unemployed until you find a new job, which isn’t too difficult since truck drivers are in high demand. However, getting your license revoked means being unable to take on commercial motor vehicle driving jobs for at least one year.
Additionally, you may be putting your life at risk by driving a truck with faulty equipment. If you use it and a third party is involved in a road accident, your finances will be in further danger as you might have to pay them thousands of dollars for damages.
Don’t take the risk, and find a company that will treat you better.
Fight Tickets
If you receive a ticket for irresponsible driving but didn’t truly violate any traffic laws, it can be worth fighting it to avoid points on your license.
While you won’t lose your CDL over one or two speeding tickets, it will lower your value as a truck driver in the eyes of potential employers. The more reputable ones will scrutinize your record, resulting in you losing out on a job opening within a company with relatively good working conditions.
Should you ever get a ticket, don’t pay it right away. In most states, paying one is an admission of guilt. You should first consider whether it’s possible to fight your ticket.
When deciding whether to pay a ticket or fight it, first understand what law you have allegedly violated, then consider whether you have any viable defenses. From there, you can formulate a strategy for fighting a ticket.
Your strategy will depend heavily on your case’s specific circumstances. You might challenge the accuracy of a speed measurement, argue that you weren’t breaking any laws, or assert that the officer didn’t have a good enough vantage point and judged the situation incorrectly.
For example, an officer gave you a ticket for crossing an intersection without stopping. However, traffic laws only require you to make a complete stop when needed for safety.
It’s even possible to contest a ticket based on a radar gun’s measurement. Radar guns need to be recalibrated every 30 to 60 days. Officers must also check the calibration after issuing a speeding ticket. If you can prove that the tool was faulty or that the officer did not check the calibration, you may be able to get your ticket dismissed.
Let Truck Driver Rights Defend You
Truck Driver Rights will defend you in court. You’ll have a lawyer with years of experience representing truck drivers to fight for your rights and protect your CDL. Call us at 877-700-0009 or fill out our contact form for a free consultation.