Thinking about CDL (my driving record)

Hello, for awhile now I've thought about a CDL as an alternative stream of income. But last month I received a ticket for going 35 over the speed limit (37 to be exact and 92mph on a 55mph) I attended court today and they wanted to give me a class A misdemeanor . Now, right down to the qurstions:

My first generalized question is what does this prevent me from achieving in the CDL workforce? Am I limited to employers, should I rethink obtaining a CDL.

Is there an informative (maybe certified) website that might have up to date information?

What does disqualification mean? I read about being disqualified for set amount of years. Is this like a license suspension but applicable if you have a CDL only.

I'm left with an ultimatum to plead guilty and accept their fine and class a misdeameanor ($500), or to see if it might be worth dropping it down to a class B misdemeanor (600-1000$)if it means I can have more l potential for a successful CDL career. As someone not in the workforce I'm completely ignorant to whats taken seriously by employers.

Any information would help, thanks. I'm also 22 and court supervision isn't an option.

 

This isn't a definitive answer, that will likely come from @Chinatown, but 15 mph the speed limit is an important dividing line for many trucking companies. More than double that over the limit is bad and being recent is a problem because insurance companies tell trucking companies what their hiring requirements will be. If your work history and driving history, other than this incident, is spotless you likely can find a company that will hire you, but you may not want to work there except as a last desperate act. There are driver that have rolled over a truck and gotten another driving job soon after. IIRC, once bad items in your history are beyond 3 years they are less important.

Don't give up yet, there will be some really good answers coming from others. There are probably some drivers that will answer how have been in your situation. Good luck.

 

is that your deal with a lawyer? If not, get one. Either way, rethink your career plan.

You were driving really really fast. There's seldom a day goes by that I don't see the aftermath of a crash on the highway. Just a few days ago a car with seven people beat a tractor trailer on the right side and swerved in front of him to avoid an ending lane. The car bounced off the jersey barriers like a pinball killing one and requiring four others to be airlifted. Only one person was unhurt. The driver was thinking like you were: hurry up at any cost.

That hurry up mentality doesn't float in a semi.30-80 thousand pounds can do too much damage if you screw up while following too closely or just going too fast for conditions.

Just saying, you may want to wait a few years.

 

What possesses someone to drive 92 in a 55 in a vehicle without lights and siren?

 

Yeah, I will take it a step further, you should not be allowed to plea it down to anything and have your license suspended for a while.

Getting a CDL isn't an issue, getting someone to hire you for the next 3 to 5 years will be, insurance companies have strict guidelines for the insured party and many companies who hire bad drivers do so either as self-insured with an underwriter behind them or they lie to the insurance company.

 

Hang it
up lead foot no company will even remotely consider you for a few yrs even if you plead a lesser charge.

 

If you complete a private cdl school, Carolina Cargo might hire you. The pay may not be what you make now though. Drivers I've communicated with that went there right out of cdl school say they make between $600 - $700 weekly.
With a ticket like you have, many cdl schools won't let you enroll unless you have a "pre-hire letter" from a trucking company.
Talk to Tami at Carolina Cargo and maybe she can help. She does give pre-hire letters to those she can hire.

 

Im going to tell you forget it.

DAC and other services will show that your 35+ showing 92 or whatever in 55 is way excessive. It will be 5 years before anyone hires you.

Im uncertain the impacts that high to your future. But I'll have to take a look at a what I have.

Have Traffic Violations Disqualified Your CDL Driver(s)? - Articles - Safety & Accident - Articles - Work Truck

At 35 plus over, you are fixing to get hit with many points. At 8 points in the old Maryland system, you are suspended and revoked for a while. At 90+ Maryland will jail you no questions.

If it's a felony and 90 is... frankly I cannot help you. If you do get convicted of a felony, then you lose so much more.

Driving Record - Understanding the Point System - Ask The Trucker

 

No reason to even be going that fast...i hope you lose your license for a bit, so you can think about your choices a little more.

Also, I hope you don't get remotely close to seeing the inside of a big truck.

 

Hello, I've taken about a week to think on it all. With responses taken into consideration. I'm not planning on fighting the case due to end goal and money spent not being worth it.

In retrospect I've realized that I've always had traffic tickets in the past and stems into a lack of emotional control and immaturity. For awhile I've struggled with extreme bursts of emotional distress and unable to thoughtfully solve or look over current complication. I've got a lot to learn, I wont be looking into a CDL as a career or side job for awhile. Instead I'm going to put my heart back into CNC machining industry. And hopefully a step back into school.