experienced trucker/father needs help for son. PLEASE TRY TO ANSWER!!!

HEllO, I am new to this forum and from the looks of it, it's a nice place for us! Let me start by saying my name is Derek, I'm from Poland and have been a driver both in Europe and the United States for over twenty years. Now to my first(hopefully not last!) question I'm asking on this forum. My son, who is almost 24 years old recently graduated from University, he majored in Automotive Technology and Engineering. Cars are his passion and like his old man he has been into working on cars and racing in Rallys since day one. His goal is to one day open up his own garage, however as a mechanic this would take a long, long time for financial reasons. He would LOVE to drive a truck because of the pay and as well to see the States. Its a hard job but when your still young i can see the appeal in this. However, a few months after my son turned 21 my brother returned from Iraq for a few weeks. After celebrating he had one too many drinks and was arrested for DUI. his BAC was .086 and he was placed under court supervision for one year in Illinois. He completed supervision successfully but there is still the problem of him finding a driving job. I have enough money to put him through truck driving school but is it even worth it at this point? Our regular car insurance did not see the DUI because he successfully completed the supervision and was never convicted. Would the kind of driving check employers do in order to drive a 18 wheeler show his DUI or would it not be seen aswell? He is a good kid that would just like to save up money for his own business. No criminal record what so ever. His license was only MABY suspended one time because a check he sent in the mail for doing 15mph over the speed limit on the highway was lost. I say MABY suspended because hes been pulled over and the officer didn't say anything. He only noticed on accident that there was a 5 month old un-payed traffic ticket so he payed it. He never lost his license after his DUI. To sum it up how long would he have to wait before being able to drive a truck. hes willing to drive locally and not necessarily a huge 18 wheeler but we are worried how long it is before he can drive ANY truck. like i said he has one DUI for blowing .086 and has successfully completed court supervision in Illinois and it has been 3 years since his arrest. Hes willing to drive the jobs we would hate until he can be behind the wheel of a true 18 wheeler. So what are our options as of right now or in the near future? Ive never gotten the answers ive been looking for so now we are here!

 

look back when its been 7 to 10 years

 

7 to ten years?!?! and for any driving job? Ive read swift and some other companies its 3 to 5 years... even for a smaller truck and locally? That seems like a very long time...

 

Your best bet is to call all the companies and see what they say. I would check out CR England, Swift, Covenant, and CRST. If those won't touch him, then have him start looking for smaller local companies by going door to door. Maybe he will get lucky and a door will open. That is the best advice anyone will give you due to the nature of the events that transpired to his DUI.

KH

 

KH, thank you for that answer and any others will be much appreciated as well. I was just hoping that after three to four years he will find ANY job driving and after 5 years that more doors will open after he has some experience on the road. I still however, find it hard to believe that he has to wait 7 to ten years before being able to drive. Hopefully someone has more information. How many years back do our driving records go to? I remember hearing 7 years but that does not necessarily mean you get disqualified for a 5 year old dui with no conviction

 

if he wasnt convicted it shouldnt be on his record, just have an motor vehicle report fron the state done and see if its on there, probably not since the insurance company didnt find it.

if he had no conviction, it shouldnt be on his driving record.

 

The answer above is the correct answer. Your son has no conviction for DUI. None. When asked the question, Do you have any DUI's conviction? the answer he must give is NO. Arrests are not convictions. It is bad behavior and he should be beaten with a wet noodle.

He can apply anywhere he wants with no problem. Welcome to the forum.

 

I agree with Wooly & Skateboard. I'm no lawyer but it seems to me if he has no conviction, he has no problem. From your original post, it sounds like they gave him an opportunity to wipe it off his record by keeping clean for a year & completing a supervisory period successfully. Get a copy of his DMV record & see what's on it. You may be worried about nothing. Good luck!

 

Because of the pay?
Really.

He could save more as a mechanic in a decent shop.

 

Ditto The photo Radar Ticket didn't show up because it was a money grabber rather then a real ticket. and same with the DUI Since he completed the course and was never convicted of it there should not be any record of it.