Troubled Past

Actually the officer in SC doesn't choose the test. After the roadside field sobriety test it is a breath alcohol test. If that registers a .00 then we can get blood for drug results. If it's a collision and you can't give a breath then a blood is done. If you take a breath and want to pay for your own blood test then that is your right. But all in all it is correct that when you get a license it implies that you will consent to the proper testing.

 

Most commercial insurance policies go back 3 years on MVR, some up to 5 yrs. The actual violations can matter with respect to potential premium increase. For example, a +5 mph speeding ticket might be considered, but a super-speeder (> 25 mph over) would indicate a tendency for risky behavior and make you a non-starter. The implied consent will probably fall in that risky behavior category.

Likewise, a carrier considering you for a driving job or a lease, has to consider risk too, versus just considering a violations scorecard. This is where the criminal background would come into play, in addition to the MVR contents. There is also the "back story" that you supply to explain things. A big company will ignore that, a small one might listen before shooing you out the door. If I'm considering you for either an employee or lease, I've got to decide whether I'm willing to bet the success of my business (which is basically where all my retirement money is invested) on your continuing to be a law abiding citizen and making good choices. In other words, I'm a believer in second chances (had a few myself), but I'm not going to bet the farm on your second chance.

If you came to me looking for an opportunity, I'd probably listen to the long version of your story. Then politely say I can't help you and wish you well. The sheer number of issues on your background tell me you have a history of reckless, risky behavior and bad decision making. It's not about the individual infractions or convictions at that point. Nor does your apparently turning over a new leaf recently make much of a difference. The fact that all that stuff is still reported tells me it hasn't been long enough to prove that you've established good habits and decision making in your life. You're just too risky to hire until you have that proof. Sorry to put that out there and maybe hurt your feelings. But it is the product of your choices in life, not me being a bad guy by turning you away because of it.

You are likely going to have only one option, to get your own authority and run independent. That is, if you can get and afford your own liability and cargo insurance, buy and maintain your own truck and equipment, then find ways to make enough money with it to pay for your past and still have some left to eat and pay bills with. That has it's own great big can of worms, as now you are taking a risk on the entire business and it will take a lot more money to make it go.

Here's another thing nobody has mentioned yet. Have you considered the risk you take by accepting a job or lease offer from a carrier that seems willing to look over your troubled past and give you that second chance? Your background paints you as the perfect victim for a scumbag carrier to take advantage of. Aside from the obvious lowball pay opportunity, to offset the "high insurance premium" of course. What if they put you in a truck and just not list you on their policy? Yeah, there's carriers that really would do such a thing. Then you get out on the road, ignorantly feeling blessed with your second chance, and you get pulled in at a weigh station and the diesel cop digs into your paperwork and finds out your carrier's documentation (about you or otherwise) has some gaps. Now you're at least out of service stranded in the middle of nowhere, maybe needing to post bond if it gets you arrested. Or a careless driver bumps you while you're parked in a rest area. Later on, maybe a day, maybe a month, the other guy's insurance company digs in deep looking for a lawsuit opportunity. And they find out you were not an insured driver on the carrier's policy. You now get to deal with that, and the carrier suddenly doesn't know you.

You really need to look at the big picture and think twice about making this happen, for your own benefit.