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PATruckie · Jul 3, 2020

I believe that courses for points reductions are not available to CDL holders

Trucking in Tennessee · Jul 3, 2020

mwonch said: ↑

Thank you for the compliment! If only you knew me, you may retract it. LOL

At the time, since I knew there was no excuse, I opted to admit the foolishness and just pay the fine. I did consider taking a few days off to travel down for the traffic course, but decided to not miss one of the two runs that week. I regret that decision. After finding out what THAT regrettable decision has cost me, I spent a lot of time researching Kentucky law to see if there was a way to re-open a simple traffic case in order to d what you suggest. I even read through quite a bit of the Code itself (what a BORING read), and it IS possible to re-open a traffic case but unlikely to succeed. Once that guilty plea is entered and fine paid, the matter is considered settled. I made several calls to the county in question and was eventually told that I could give it a shot, but without additional evidence that the offense could not be avoided (such as, maneuvering to avoid an accident) the case would be left to stand as is. "Just not thinking about it" would not be an excuse, of course. Basically, once a traffic case is closed with a willing and uncontested guilty plea and fine paid, it's over. Especially since it's been nearly a year since that official admission and conviction.

I also have discovered that even if I took a traffic safety course to get points wiped clean or reduced, that would apply only to the license itself. The charge and conviction would still be on the record, and INSURANCE companies apply their own point system without regard to said course. Taking such a course after the fact is designed to prevent warnings from the state about points or suspensions at state level.

So, I'm stuck with it. The bottom line is I should have listened to my gut instinct and just taken 2 days off to travel back down in my personal vehicle to take the course AT THE TIME OF pleading guilty and paying the fine. That decision to keep that one instance of $735 income (before taxes) actually cost me a possible $100K+ of income over the course of the following 3 years. Bad move, that was.

Now, I must consign myself to being a Cautionary Tale. Just learn the lessons, never become complacent, and stop being so #### short-sighted in regards to protection of the CDL. And, even if a traffic offense is 100% intentional, never ever EVER just plead guilty without at least an attempt at reducing the charge(s).
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I don't believe you can take a safety course holding a CDL. In Tennessee you cannot. A good lawyer (one that is friendly with the courts) can get you out of most of these, especially a lane violation). Most people in the courts (and all cops) know what damage a ticket can do to a CDL driver. Some care, some don't. Most courts just want money. I got a lawyer for a speeding ticket (which was a speed trap like the old days, and someone finally ordered the cops to stop using that particular place), and hired a lawyer for $150. When I went to pay the court fine (but not the ticket, it was thrown out) it was MORE than the ticket. I complained and the court clerk laughed. She said, now you don't want that on your record do you? It's always about money. Another tip is to ask the court clerk where you will be fighting the ticket who the best lawyer is (they know who gets them reduced or tossed).

TexasKGB · Jul 3, 2020

Chinatown said: ↑

I work for the CIA, KGB and Mossad, but it's a secret, so don't tell anyone.
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@Chinatown is basically our own Mycroft Holmes. Sometimes he is the nation's highways.

I glide 47 · Jul 22, 2020

Chinatown said: ↑

I work for the CIA, KGB and Mossad, but it's a secret, so don't tell anyone.
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He's also in the witness protection program so don't tell anyone,

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