I just got a DUI while driving my own personal vehicle. I've been working as a hazmat driver for the last few years. In this situation do I lose my license for 1 year or 3 years? Will I lose my hazmat endorsement for 3 years?
DUI and Hazmat Question
Discussion in 'Experienced Truckers' Advice' started by Gabbadj, Mar 24, 2026 at 10:15 AM.
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austinmike and tscottme Thank this.
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Fight and delay it as long as possible.
Hire a lawyer
If you were pulling hazmat at the time it's 3 years no CDL. -
Get a lawyer, yes.
Notify your employer of the citation. Consult with your employers safety dept. regarding your options.
Congratulations on the bonehead action of the year.
If you were my employee, you would be terminated, immediately. -
I wasn't working at the time and driving my personal car. Fighting this doesn't seem to be the right way to go. Cases in Wisconsin are almost never dismissed and I it seems that everything was done by the book. The idea of paying 10K or more while taking a huge pay cut frightens me. Still it looks like I'll be screwed for 6 to 12 months and I'll probably never drive a commercial truck again. I was hired straight out of CDL school and have zero experience driving tractor trailer.
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I do believe that I will be terminated from my driving position, I might be able to get a non driving position. It's been about 50/50 on getting a lawyer. In Wisconsin a first time offense isn't criminal and the states job is pretty easy to get a civil conviction. The penalties are pretty cut and dry and there is little room to negotiate any sort of plea. Still I am talking to a few lawyers in the area and a few have given me a tiny bit of hope.
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It looks like DUI conviction in personal vehicle (BAC 0.04 +) leads to 1 year CDL disqualification. I don't see DUI has any impact on HazMat unless you operated CMV with HM while impaired. Of course, if your CDL is disqualified, then you no longer have a HazMat, or other endorsement for that DQ period. TSA doesn't mention alcohol or DUI as Permanent or Temporary DQ. So I'm guessing that after 1 year you can reapply for CDL. I don't know if you have to retake the road test and computer tests for your endorsements or not. My guess is you would need to pass road/endorsement tests again. -
Suggestion: Start going to AA meetings and listen to other people tell their story. Then you can figure out if you have alcoholism.
It used to be considered a character defect but now it's treated like a disease and that can work out in your favor.tscottme and austinmike Thank this. -
Why are you worried about your haz mats for ?You just got a dui do you believe you’re going to be driving a commercial vehicle anytime soon
Bean Jr. Thanks this. -
Hire a lawyer. You should be fine. Best of Luck ~
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Hire an attorney and fight this. That's really the only choice you have for a slim chance at keeping your current job and your CDL clean. It's going to cost you about $20,000 on the low side the attorney, your lost wages when your company suspends you (have you informed them yet?) until it's resolved legally (likely to be several months before that happens), fines etc but if your attorney is any good and gets you off your license will not be SAP'ed. Otherwise you're screwed and can kiss trucking goodbye if you don't fight it. Nobody hires SAP drivers. Nobody worth a **** anyways. There's a lot of costs involved with going through the SAP process that it's just not worth it to most people and they end walking away from trucking as a career entirely.
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