Protect Your Texas Commercial Driver's License
Even traffic tickets in Texas can have dire consequences on your ability to retain your commercial driving privileges and in turn on your capacity to earn your living.

July 01, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Protect Your Texas Commercial Driver's License

Article provided by Jack Byno, Attorney at Law
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In Texas, as in other states, special licenses are necessary for most jobs that require driving. A commercial driver's license (CDL) is required in Texas to professionally drive large vehicles such as semis, passenger buses, school buses, garbage trucks, cement trucks and most vehicles that transport hazardous material. Exceptions to the CDL requirement in Texas include drivers of most large vehicles in these categories: farm and ranch, emergency, military, recreational, airport and cotton hauling.

Obviously, drivers will likely lose their CDL privileges if they commit serious traffic crimes like driving while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs or vehicular homicide. But commercial drivers must also take great care not to commit lesser traffic offenses. Even traffic tickets in Texas can have dire consequences on your ability to retain your commercial driving privileges and in turn on your capacity to earn your living.

The Driver Responsibility Program

In late 2003, the state of Texas established its Driver Responsibility Program, a surcharge-generating point system. Drivers accumulate points on their driving records for traffic violations that are Class C misdemeanors under Texas law and for comparable out-of-state violations. Most moving violations -- approximately 175 -- create driver responsibility points, including:
-Aggravated assault with a motor vehicle
-Unsafe turning
-Failure to yield in intersection
-Failure to signal lane change or turn
-Drag racing
-Running a red light

Examples of traffic offenses not generating points include:
-Excessive acceleration
-No driver's license
-Failure to stop and render aid

Points are assigned according to the seriousness and frequency of an offense. An individual's points stay on his or her driving record for three years from a conviction date. Points are calculated according to these formulas:
-A moving violation in Texas or another state: two points
-Child safety seat violation: two points
-A moving violation in Texas or another state that causes an accident: three points

No points are earned, however, for speeding under 10 percent over the legal limit outside a school zone or for seat-belt violations.

Surcharges from point accumulation are assessed annually for the current three-year period. Six points trigger a yearly surcharge of $100, plus $25 for each additional point over six.

Surcharges Without Points

Certain convictions generate surcharges automatically without affecting the point system. These are assessed annually for three years from conviction:
-DWI: $1,000 first conviction; $1,500 second or subsequent conviction
-DWI with blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .16 or higher: $2,000
-Driving while license invalid or failing to maintain financial responsibility: $250
-Driving without valid license or with an improper license: $100

Failure to pay surcharges within 30 days of billing results in loss of driving privileges until the driver establishes a payment plan or pays in full. Surcharge money funds trauma centers, the state general tax fund and administration of the program.

Traffic Offenses and CDLs

Texas law defines a serious traffic violation as excessive speeding (15 MPH or more over the limit), reckless driving, a traffic violation involving a fatal accident, an improper lane change, following too closely or driving without a valid CDL in possession.

A CDL holder loses his or her commercial license for:
-Sixty days for two serious traffic violations in three years or for certain railroad-crossing violations.
-One-hundred twenty days for three serious traffic violations in three years or two railroad-crossing violations in three years.
-One year for three railroad-crossing violations in three years, driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) or under the influence of a controlled substance, leaving an accident scene involving the driver's vehicle, using a vehicle to commit a felony (except for felonies involving controlled substances), causing death by negligent or criminal operation of a vehicle, driving a commercial vehicle when not properly licensed, operating a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) with a BAC of 0.04 percent or higher or with a controlled substance in his or her body or operating any vehicle over the legal limit of 0.08.
-Three years for committing certain serious offenses while transporting certain hazardous materials, refusing to submit to alcohol or drug testing while transporting certain hazardous materials, transporting certain hazardous materials in a CMV with a BAC of 0.04 or higher or transporting certain hazardous materials in any vehicle with a BAC of 0.08 or higher.
-Life for second convictions of several of the offenses enumerated under the one-year suspension list, use of a vehicle to commit a felony involving a controlled substance or certain combinations of serious offenses.

Finally, state and federal law require CDL holders to notify their employers within 30 days of state or local traffic violations (except for parking), even if committed while driving a noncommercial vehicle and even if it incurred outside of Texas. In turn, employers of commercial drivers are subject to detailed legal restrictions on employment of drivers with such violations, so your employer may be required to suspend or let you go in some circumstances. In addition, commercial drivers applying for new jobs must provide details to potential employers of crimes, serious traffic violations and negative driving impact for the past 10 years.

Legal Representation Critical

Fighting traffic offenses and points on your driving record is tougher from the start if you have a CDL. Only noncommercial license holders are potentially eligible for deferred adjudication or defensive driving courses in lieu of point accumulation or surcharges.

A knowledgeable attorney can educate you about the details and nuances of the law as it applies to your traffic citation. Federal law can also play a part, especially if you drive your CMV outside of Texas in other states.

The best defense against negative impact on your ability to work as a professional commercial driver is to avoid traffic offenses (or worse crimes) by driving carefully, lawfully and only when fully rested. However, if you do find yourself facing traffic charges, consultation with a lawyer with extensive experience in traffic offenses and CDLs can be the key to your continued livelihood. Your attorney can try to minimize the damage of your actions, fight to keep violations off your record, negotiate with the prosecutor on your behalf and, if necessary, represent you aggressively in court.

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