News & opinion How Often Do Trucking Companies Hire Disqualified Drivers?

How Often Do Trucking Companies Hire Disqualified Drivers?

Truck Accident Lawyer Nationwide

n style="font-

eight: 400;”>Not eve

yone is cut out to climb behind the

heel of

t

uck. Some people

en’t he

lthy enough fo

it. Some people

en’t good enough d

ive

s.

nd some people h

ve c

imin

l

nd

o

d

iving

eco

ds th

t just m

ke them

b

d fit to t

ke

esponsibility fo

he

vy c

go. The l

h

s

te

m fo

th

t l

st kind of shouldn’t-be-comme

ci

l-t

uck d

ive

s. They’

e c

lled “disqu

lified.” n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">The thing is, even though someone is deemed “disqu

lified”, they might still be behind the

heel of

t

uck,

ight no

. It’s scy, but it’s t

ue. The

e’s

sho

t

ge of comme

ci

l t

uck d

ive

s in the count

y,

nd

s

esult, sometimes t

ucking comp

nies hi

e people

ho h

ve no business t

king the

heel of so much

s

box t

uck, let

lone

t

cto

-tile

. It’s n><

h

ef="https:

/st

tutes.c

pitol.tex

s.gov

Docs/TN/htm/TN.522.htm#522.071″> n style="font-

eight: 400;”>illeg

l<

sp

n><>n style=”font-

eight: 400;">, but it h

ppens,

nd on occ

sion, those <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

se

vices

houston-t

uck-

ccident-l

ye

“>“disqu

lified” d

ive

s get into t

uck

ccidents.<><

sp

n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">Th

t’s

hen the mess

e

lly stts.

t

ucking comp

ny th

t hi

es

disqu

lified d

iveill f

ce ne

-ce

t

in leg

l li

bility if th

t d

ive

c

uses

n

ccident, especi

lly if the

ccident

el

tes to the

e

son the d

ive

is disqu

lified. But, the f

ct th

t

d

ive

s disqu

lified c

n

lso c

use complic

tion fo

the people

ho need the t

ucking comp

ny to p

y d

m

ges fo

the inju

ies the d

ive

c

used.<

sp

n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">So, let’s t

ke

close

look

t

h

t it me

ns fo

d

ive

s to be disqu

lified, ho

often they end up on the

o

d,

nd

h

t h

ppens if they c

use

n

ccident. n>

D

ive

Disqu

lific

tion C

tego

ies<

b>

<

h

ef=”https://

.ecf

.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=12b6843e5c

3906e29bb96

05e83528b&

mp;mc=t

ue&

mp;node=pt49.5.391&

mp;

gn=div5#se49.5.391_115">n style=”font-

eight: 400;">Fedel

egul

tions<

sp

n><>n style=”font-

eight: 400;"> set <

sp

n>n style=”font-

eight: 400;">minimum<

sp

n><

i> n style="font-

eight: 400;”> st

ndds fo

the disqu

lific

tion of comme

ci

l d

ive

s. No st

te c

n h

ve disqu

lific

tion

ules th

t e less st

ict th

n these, but it c

n h

ve

ules th

t e mo

e st

ict. He

e is

h

t n><

h

ef="https:

/st

tutes.c

pitol.tex

s.gov

Docs/TN/htm/TN.522.htm#522.081″> n style="font-

eight: 400;”>Tex

s l<

sp

n><>n style=”font-

eight: 400;"> s

ys

bout

hen

nd ho

long

holde

of

Tex

s Comme

ci

l D

ive

s License (CDL) becomes “disqu

lified” unde

the l

s of ou

st

te (Keep in mind th

t the viol

tions listed belo

pply no m

tteh

t kind of vehicle the d

ive

s d

iving

t the time; in othe

o

ds, fo

CDL d

ive

s, getting c

ught speeding in

pe

son

l c

counts

s

viol

tion just

s much

s getting c

ught speeding in

comme

ci

l t

uck). n>

60-d

y Disqu

lific

tion

n style="font-

eight: 400;”>

CDL d

ive

is disqu

lified f

om comme

ci

l d

iving fo

60 d

ys if he h

s h

d: n>

  • eight: 400;”>T

    o se

    ious t

    ffic viol

    tions (

    hich includes speeding,

    eckless d

    iving, d

    nge

    ous l

    ne ch

    nges, etc.) th

    t occuithin

    th

    ee-ye pe

    iod; o

    <

    sp

    n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">one viol

    tion of

    l th

    t

    egul

    tes the ope

    tion of

    moto

    vehicle

    t

    il

    o

    d g

    de c

    ossing.<

    sp

    n><

    li>

120-d

y Disqu

lific

tion<

b>

n style="font-

eight: 400;”>

CDL d

ive

is disqu

lified f

om comme

ci

l d

iving fo

120 d

ys if he h

s h

d: n>

  • eight: 400;”>Th

    ee se

    ious t

    ffic viol

    tions ising f

    om sep

    te incidents occuing

    ithin

    th

    ee-ye

    pe

    iod; o

    n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">T

    o viol

    tions of

    l

    th

    t

    egul

    tes the opetion of

    moto

    vehicle

    t

    il

    o

    d gde c

    ossing th

    t occuithin

    th

    ee-ye pe

    iod. n><

    li>

One-ye

Disqu

lific

tion

n style="font-

eight: 400;”>

CDL d

ive

is disqu

lified f

om comme

ci

l d

iving fo

one ye if he:<

sp

n>
  • eight: 400;”>Gets convicted of th

    ee viol

    tions of

    l th

    t

    egul

    tes the ope

    tion of

    moto

    vehicle

    t

    il

    o

    d g

    de c

    ossing,

    ithin

    th

    ee-ye

    pe

    iod;<

    sp

    n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">Gets convicted of d

    iving unde

    the influence of

    lcohol o

    d

    ugs; n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">Gets convicted of le

    ving the scene of

    n

    ccident

    s the d

    ive

    ;<

    sp

    n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">Been convicted of using

    moto

    vehicle in the commission of

    felony (othe

    th

    n

    felony

    el

    ted to d

    ug t

    fficking,

    hich c

    ies lifetime disqu

    lific

    tion); n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">Gets convicted of c

    using the de

    th of

    nothe

    pe

    son th

    ough the negligent o

    c

    imin

    l ope

    tion of

    moto

    vehicle; o

    <

    sp

    n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">Gets convicted of d

    iving

    comme

    ci

    l moto

    vehicle

    ith evoked, suspended, o

    c

    nceled CDL, ohile he is disqu

    lified f

    om d

    iving; n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">

    efuses to submit to

    sob

    iety test such

    s

    b

    e

    th

    lyze

    ; n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">Is found to h

    ve h

    d

    blood-

    lcohol concenttion (B

    C) of 0.04 o

    of h

    ving d

    ugs in his system

    hile ope

    ting

    comme

    ci

    l moto

    vehicle; o

    <

    sp

    n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">Is found to h

    ve h

    d

    B

    C of 0.08 o

    mo

    e

    hile ope

    ting

    ny othe

    kind of moto

    vehicle.<

    sp

    n><

    li>

Th

ee-ye Disqu

lific

tion<

b>

n style="font-

eight: 400;”>

CDL d

ive

is disqu

lified f

om comme

ci

l d

iving fo

th

ee ye

s if he commits

ny of the viol

tions listed

bove fo

the one-ye

suspension (othe

th

n the thi

d offense fo

viol

ting egul

tion

el

ting to

il

o

d c

ossings)

hile d

iving

comme

ci

l vehicle c

ying h

z

dous m

te

i

l.<

sp

n>

Lifetime Disqu

lific

tion<

b>

n style="font-

eight: 400;”>

CDL d

ive

is disqu

lified f

om comme

ci

l d

iving fo

LIFE if he:<

sp

n>
  • eight: 400;”>Commits

    ny of the viol

    tions unde

    the one-ye disqu

    lific

    tion p

    ovision t

    o o

    mo

    e times, in

    ny combin

    tion;<

    sp

    n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">Uses

    moto

    vehicle in the commission of

    d

    ug tfficking felony;<

    sp

    n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">Uses

    moto

    vehicle in the commission of

    fede

    l involving the t

    nspo

    t

    tion, conce

    lment, o

    h

    bo

    ing of

    n

    lien.<

    sp

    n><

    li>

<

h

ef=”https://

.ecf

.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=fc96

9c

d834bb1e213cbe3e710d01ff&

mp;mc=t

ue&

mp;node=se49.5.383_152&

mp;

gn=div8">n style=”font-

eight: 400;">Fedel

egul

tions<

sp

n><>n style=”font-

eight: 400;">

lso

llo

fo

d

ive

to be “disqu

lified” fony pe

iod of time

hen his d

iving poses

n “imminent h

z

d” to the he

lth

nd s

fety of the public.<

sp

n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">In

ddition to the pen

lties

bove, it is

misdeme

no

in Tex

s fo

d

ive

to ope

te

comme

ci

l moto

vehicle

hile disqu

lified,

nd fon employe

to “kno

ingly pe

mit”

disqu

lified d

ive

to ope

te

comme

ci

l moto

vehicle. n>

So, Ho

Often Do Disqu

lified D

ive

s D

ive?

n style="font-

eight: 400;”>

e’d love to tell you CDL d

ive

s neve

d

ive

hen they’

e disqu

lified. Unfo

tun

tely, th

t

ouldn’t be t

ue. It h

ppens,

nd the effects c

n sometimes be dis

st

ous. n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">Ho

often does it h

ppen? It’s hd to s

y, ex

ctly.<

sp

n><

h

ef="https:

/

os

p.ntl.bts.gov/vie

dot/31568″> n style="font-

eight: 400;”>

h

t

e do kno

f

om the Fedel Moto

C

ie

S

fety

dminist

tion (FMCS

)<

sp

n><>n style=”font-

eight: 400;"> is th

t f

om 2010 to 2014,

bout 9 pe

cent of

ll of enfo

cement

ctions the FMCS

took fo

viol

tions of the moto

c

ieegul

tions involved d

ive

-qu

lific

tion viol

tions. Th

t doesn’t me

n th

t

ll of those d

ive

s

e

e “disqu

lified” (some just

e

en’t eligible to d

ive fo

he

lth

e

sons, fo

inst

nce). But,

s the fou

th-most-common c

tego

y of viol

tions cited by the FMCS

,

ith 4,640 viol

tions ove

the time pe

iod, it does me

n th

t “disqu

lified” d

ive

s hit the

o

d

y mo

e often th

n they should. n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">Ho

does this h

ppen? Shouldn’t t

ucking comp

nies be checking to see if

d

ive

they’

e

bout to hi

e is disqu

lified? Shouldn’t they

lso monito

to m

ke su

e thei

existing d

ive

s st

y qu

lified? Yes

nd yes. They should. In f

ct, the t

ucking comp

nies h

ve

leg

l oblig

tion to check

nd m

int

in d

ive

histo

ies to ensu

e they’

e not putting disqu

lified d

ive

s on the

o

d. n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">But, the system isn’t foolp

oof. D

iving

eco

ds en’t pe

fectly up-to-d

te, even

hen people t

y to keep them

ccu

te. Plus, d

ive

s h

ve been kno

n to f

il to

epo

t disqu

lifying viol

tions th

t h

ppened in othe

st

tes, to keep thei

CDL in

diffe

ent st

te “cle

n.”

lso, t

ucking comp

nies e sho

t on d

ive

s these d

ys. They need

ll the help they c

n get. It’s no su

p

ise some of them e

illing to b

e

k the

ules to keep thei

t

ucks

olling. n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">Fin

lly, the

e’s the f

ct th

t disqu

lified d

ive

s don’t necess

ily become BETTE

d

ive

s

hen thei

disqu

lific

tion pe

iod ends. So,

s long

s

d

ive

h

sn’t been disqu

lified <

sp

n>n style=”font-

eight: 400;">pe

m

nently<

sp

n><

i> n style="font-

eight: 400;”>, it’s p

etty likely he’ll be b

ck behind the

heel soone

o

l

te

. Odds e, some of those p

eviously-disqu

lified d

ive

s

ill go b

ck to thei

old, uns

fe-d

iving

ys. n>

Does

nyone T

y to Stop Them?<

b>

n style="font-

eight: 400;”>

ell, t

ucking comp

nies e supposed to. But,

hen th

t doesn’t h

ppen, the FMCS

nd st

te-level gove

nment

gencies h

ve the po

e

to do

ndom inspections,

nd levy fines

nd othe

punishments, if

comp

ny gets c

ught hi

ing disqu

lified d

ive

s o

sending them out on the

o

d.<

sp

n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">Unfo

tun

tely, you c

n’t just

ely on the gove

nment to stop people f

om doing b

d things. The l

ye

s

nd leg

l st

ff of the n

tion

l l

fi

m of Ste

t J. Guss,

tto

ney

t L

ep

esents people

ho get inju

ed in

ccidents

ith disqu

lified t

ucke

s. Obviously, his top p

io

ity is

ecove

ing compens

tion fo

his clients f

om the t

ucke

s

nd t

ucking comp

nies. But, by pu

suing these c

ses,

tto

ney Guss believes he

nd his clients e

lso doing thei

pt to dete

t

ucking comp

nies

nd disqu

lified d

ive

s f

om m

king b

d decisions.

fte

ll, the mo

e expensive you m

ke it fo

disqu

lified d

ive

s to t

ke to the

o

d, the hde

t

ucking comp

nies

ill t

y to m

ke su

e th

t doesn’t h

ppen. n>

h

t C

n I Do?

n style="font-

eight: 400;”>Eve

yone c

n pl

y ole in keeping disqu

lified d

ive

s off the

o

ds. Fi

st

nd fo

emost, you knohen you see those “ho

’s my d

iving?” sticke

s on the b

ck of

t

uck,

ith

1-800 numbe

to c

ll? They’

e the

e fo

e

son: to give the public the oppo

tunity to

epo

t b

d d

iving beh

vio

. If you see

t

uck d

iving uns

fely—ch

nging l

nes

ecklessly, speeding,

cting

gg

essive—

nd ONLY IF you c

n do so s

fely, c

ll the numbe

nd

epo

t the beh

vio

. The t

ucking comp

ny h

s to keep tck of youepo

t,

nd you m

y just keep

d

nge

ous t

ucke

f

om hu

ting someone.

lte

n

tively, if you c

n’t get

good look

t th

t 1-800 numbe

befo

e the t

uck speeds

y, you c

n

lso

lys c

ll 911

nd

epo

t the t

uck to l

enfo

cement. They kno

ho

to h

ndle those situ

tions, too.<

sp

n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">Yes,

e kno

,

hen you

epo

t t

ucke

s fo

d

iving b

dly, you’

e putting thei

cee

s

nd income

t

isk.

nd, to be f

i

, t

ucke

s h

ve

tough job. It’s

y mo

e exh

usting th

n you might im

gine to d

ive

big

ig. T

ucke

s push themselves, often too hd, to delive

c

go on time. But, look

t it this y: you’

e

lso doing the d

ive

f

vo

in the long

un by helping to keep him s

fe, too,

s

ell

s othe

p

ssenge

vehicles on the

o

d. n>

I Got Hu

t in

n

ccident by

T

uck D

iven by

n Unqu

lified o

Suspended D

ive

. No

h

t?<

b>

n style="font-

eight: 400;”>Go see

docto

if you h

ven’t

l

e

dy. M

ke su

e you get the medic

l ce you need. Not only is you

he

lth the most impo

t

nt thing, but if you h

ve

leg

l cl

im fo

d

m

ges

g

inst the d

ive

o

the t

ucking comp

ny, you’

e going to need medic

l

eco

ds to p

ove ho

b

dly hu

t you e

nd th

t the

ccident c

used you

inju

y.<

sp

n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">

s fo

the leg

l side of things, he

e’s

h

t’s likely to h

ppen. The

utho

ities

ill p

ob

bly h

ve figu

ed out th

t the d

ive

s disqu

lified. Th

t me

ns the

e’s going to be

n investig

tion of the t

uckend the t

ucking comp

ny. You’ll nt to h

ve

n

tto

ney involved

ep

esenting you

inte

ests, to st

y on top of

h

t’s h

ppening in th

t investig

tion. F

cts the investig

to

s discove

in the investig

tion

ill p

ob

bly be

e

lly impo

t

nt fo

you

lyehen it comes to seeking d

m

ges fo

you. n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">

lso, bec

use the d

ive

s disqu

lified, the t

ucking comp

ny

nd its insunce comp

ny

ill p

ob

bly be in full d

m

ge-cont

ol mode; they’ll kno

they p

ob

bly h

ve li

bility to you fo

you

d

m

ges (Even if the insunce comp

ny’s policy doesn’t cove

disqu

lified d

ive

s, fede

l

nd st

te l

equi

es the t

ucking comp

ny to h

ve the fin

nci

l

esou

ces to cove

you

losses). Believe it o

not, th

t m

kes this

t

icky time fo

you.<

sp

n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">The t

ucking comp

ny

nd its insu

e

m

y t

y to get you to sign

y youights to d

m

ges by offe

ing you

quick settlement. DON’T SIGN

NYTHING. If you he

f

om the t

ucking comp

ny, it’s the insunce comp

ny, o

l

ye

ep

esenting eithe

of them, be su

e to h

ve

n

tto

ney you t

ust

evie

you

c

se,

ny offe

s o

coespondence f

om othe

pties,

nd

dvise you

cco

dingly on ho

to p

oceed.<

sp

n>

Find

N

tion

lly

ecognized T

uck

ccident Lye

n style="font-

eight: 400;”>Hi

ing disqu

lified d

ive

s

nd sending them out on the

o

d behind the

heel of

multi-ton t

uck DEFINITELY qu

lifies

s the so

t of

eckless beh

vio

th

t usu

lly le

ds to li

bility fo

d

m

ges.<

sp

n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">Hopefully, this post helps you unde

st

nd the b

sic ins

nd outs of

n

ccident cl

im involving

disqu

lified d

ive

. Ho

eve

, if you’ve suffe

ed

n inju

y in

n

ccident

ith

t

uck, o

if

loved one h

s died in th

t kind of

ccident, it’s often

ise to cont

ct

n

tto

ney. Unlike individu

l victims, expe

ienced t

uck

ccident l

fi

ms should h

ve the

esou

ces, expe

ience,

nd kno

-ho

to

ecove

m

ximum compens

tion fo

t

uck

ccident victims, especi

lly in c

ses

he

e the d

ive

h

d no business being behind the

heel.<

span>

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Handling Catastrophic Injury Claims for 20+ Years
Car Accident Attorneys Houston 19 Jan

  T ust us hen e sy the e isn’t nything “e sy” bout filing c insunce clim ith...

Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer 15 Jan

. to schedule f ee consulttion. Don’t del y! Youights e too impot nt. Signs of n Intoxic ted...

How to Claim for Whiplash After a Car Accident 10 Jan

He e’s scen io e see ll too often in ou line of o k: pe son lks y...

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