Can You Lose Your CDL for an OWI in a Personal Vehicle?

Introduction

Yes. An OWI in your personal vehicle can cause you to lose your commercial driving privileges. For more than 20 years, I have helped clients deal with serious legal problems involving their driving privileges. In my experience, CDL holders are often surprised to learn that an off-duty arrest can threaten both their license and their livelihood.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• An OWI in a personal vehicle can affect your CDL.
• You do not have to be driving a commercial vehicle when the OWI happens.
• A first OWI conviction generally causes a one-year CDL disqualification.
• A second major offense may result in a lifetime CDL disqualification.
• Hardship or specialized privileges generally cannot authorize commercial driving.
• A CDL disqualification can prevent you from continuing to work as a commercial driver.

  A CDL holder is held to higher standards, even while off duty. The criminal case, the suspension of ordinary driving privileges, and the CDL disqualification are related, but they are not always the same legal action.

Can an OWI in Your Personal Vehicle Affect Your CDL?

Yes.

Federal CDL rules treat driving under the influence as a major offense. A first major offense committed in either a commercial or noncommercial vehicle generally results in a one-year disqualification from operating a commercial motor vehicle.

The Indiana Commercial Driver’s License Manual also warns that an alcohol-related suspension involving a personal vehicle can cause a driver to lose CDL privileges for one year. A second qualifying offense in a personal vehicle or commercial vehicle may lead to a lifetime CDL disqualification.

This commercial disqualification may be added to any suspension of your regular driving privileges. A CDL holder should therefore examine both the criminal court case and every notice issued by the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

Professional insight: CDL cases carry consequences that may not appear on the face of the criminal charge. Before a driver enters a plea, the proposed outcome should be reviewed for its effect on ordinary driving privileges, commercial privileges, insurance, and employment.

Does It Matter That You Were Not Driving a Commercial Vehicle?

It matters, but it does not protect your CDL.

The type of vehicle can affect the alcohol limit and what the State must prove. A person operating a commercial motor vehicle is generally subject to the 0.04% commercial alcohol standard. The usual per se limit for an adult driving a personal vehicle is 0.08%, although a person may still be accused of being intoxicated at a lower level.

The difference in alcohol limits does not create a personal-vehicle exception to the CDL consequences. A qualifying OWI conviction in a car, pickup truck, motorcycle, or SUV can still trigger a commercial disqualification.

Personal Vehicle Versus Commercial Vehicle

When the OWI happened in a personal vehicle:

• Indiana’s ordinary OWI laws generally control the criminal charge;
• A conviction can still trigger a CDL disqualification;
• A suspension of personal driving privileges can also prevent commercial driving;
• The driver may have reporting duties to the employer; and
• The driver may be unable to perform a job that requires a CDL.

When the incident happened in a commercial vehicle, the lower commercial alcohol standard and additional federal safety rules may apply. A longer disqualification may also apply if the driver was transporting placarded hazardous materials.

What Can Happen to Your CDL After an OWI Conviction?

A First OWI Can Cause a One-Year Disqualification

A first OWI conviction will generally disqualify you from operating a commercial motor vehicle for one year.

This does not always mean that every form of driving is prohibited for the entire year. Your ability to drive a personal vehicle depends on your regular license status, the court’s suspension order, BMV requirements, and whether you receive specialized driving privileges.

However, an order allowing limited personal driving generally does not restore the right to operate a commercial motor vehicle.

Hazardous-Materials Cases Can Carry a Longer Penalty

A first major offense committed while transporting hazardous materials that require placards may result in a three-year CDL disqualification. This longer period will not normally apply to an OWI committed in an ordinary personal vehicle.

A Second Major Offense Can Lead to a Lifetime Disqualification

A second major offense committed in either a commercial or noncommercial vehicle can result in a lifetime CDL disqualification. The earlier offense does not necessarily have to involve a commercial vehicle.

Federal rules may permit limited reinstatement in some lifetime-disqualification cases after at least ten years, but reinstatement is not automatic. The driver must satisfy all applicable federal and state requirements.

A Chemical-Test Refusal Can Also Create Problems

Refusing a chemical test can produce serious license consequences. Depending on the circumstances, a refusal may result in an administrative suspension and may also qualify as a major CDL offense.

The exact result may depend on the type of vehicle, the test requested, whether implied-consent procedures were followed, whether the driver challenged the suspension on time, and whether the driver was later convicted.

Can You Get Specialized Driving Privileges for a CDL?

Not for commercial driving.

An Indiana court may grant specialized driving privileges that allow a person to drive a personal vehicle for approved purposes. The order may permit travel to work, medical appointments, treatment, court, or other necessary places.

That order generally cannot authorize the person to operate a commercial motor vehicle while the CDL disqualification remains in effect. Permission to drive to work is not the same as permission to drive a commercial truck for work.

Can an OWI Affect Your Ability to Continue Working as a Commercial Driver?

Yes. An OWI can have an immediate and serious effect on employment.

A commercial driver who is disqualified cannot legally operate a commercial motor vehicle. An employer also cannot knowingly allow a suspended or disqualified driver to operate one.

Federal rules generally require a CDL holder to notify an employer of a traffic conviction, other than a parking violation, within 30 days. A driver must also notify the employer by the end of the next business day after learning that the license was suspended, revoked, or canceled, or that the driver was disqualified from commercial driving.

An OWI may affect employment in several ways:

• The driver may be removed from driving duties;
• The employer may suspend or terminate employment;
• The employer’s insurance company may refuse to cover the driver;
• The driver may lose access to certain routes or customers;
• A hazardous-materials endorsement may be affected; and
• Future employers may be unwilling to hire the driver.

Employment consequences may begin before the criminal case is finished if the driver’s ordinary privileges are administratively suspended.

Will Your Employer Automatically Fire You?

Not necessarily.

The result depends on the employer’s policies, insurance requirements, union agreement, employment contract, and the type of work involved. Some employers may offer non-driving work. Others may terminate employment because commercial driving is an essential part of the job.

A driver should review the employee handbook, drug and alcohol policy, collective bargaining agreement, employment contract, insurance requirements, reporting deadlines, and any available non-driving positions.

Do not hide the arrest, conviction, suspension, or disqualification when the law or an employment policy requires disclosure. Failing to report the matter can create an additional reason for termination.

Why the Timing of the Case Matters

A CDL case may involve several different dates:

• The date of the traffic stop;
• The date of a chemical-test refusal or failure;
• The beginning of an administrative suspension;
• The date criminal charges are filed;
• The date of conviction;
• The beginning of the CDL disqualification; and
• The date the driver becomes eligible for reinstatement.

These dates may not be the same. A driver may also face more than one license action arising from the same event.

Professional insight: A CDL is more than a license for many people. It is how they support their families. In more than 20 years of legal practice, I have learned that these cases must be approached as both criminal cases and livelihood cases. The driver needs to understand the employment consequences before making a final decision in court.

What Should a CDL Holder Do After an OWI Arrest?

1. Write down everything that happened before, during, and after the traffic stop.
2. Preserve videos, photographs, receipts, text messages, and witness information.
3. Review every notice from the court and the Indiana BMV.
4. Determine whether there is a deadline to challenge an administrative suspension.
5. Obtain a current copy of your official driving record.
6. Review your employer’s reporting policy.
7. Do not operate a commercial vehicle while suspended or disqualified.
8. Speak with an attorney who understands both OWI defense and CDL consequences.

The Bottom Line

You can lose your CDL because of an OWI in your personal vehicle.

You do not need to be driving a commercial truck when the offense occurs. A first conviction will generally result in a one-year CDL disqualification. A second major offense may result in a lifetime disqualification.

You may be able to obtain limited privileges for personal driving, but you generally cannot obtain hardship privileges that allow you to continue driving a commercial vehicle.

Because your employment may depend on your CDL, the criminal case and the licensing consequences should be reviewed together before you enter a plea or make other important decisions.

Speak With an Indiana OWI Attorney

If you hold a CDL and have been arrested for OWI, you should understand the effect on both your regular license and your commercial driving privileges.

The Bellinger Law Office can review the traffic stop, chemical testing, BMV notices, prior driving history, possible defenses, and potential CDL consequences.

Contact the Bellinger Law Office to schedule a consultation concerning an Indiana OWI charge involving a commercial driver. You can schedule an appointment by calling us at (260) 428-2214 or by clicking on the link below.

Click here to schedule an appointment

This article provides general information about Indiana and federal law. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws, regulations, and agency practices may change. The outcome of any case depends on its specific facts.