The Effect of a DUI on Your Oklahoma Commercial Driver’s License
Being charged or convicted of a DUI while holding a commercial driver’s license could cost you your license or even your job. To obtain a commercial driver’s license or CDL, you must pass a test and meet higher state-established standards than holders of non-commercial licenses. Similarly, the federal government has established higher standards than some states for when a commercial driver loses his license after a DUI.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration sets minimum standards that holders of CDLs must meet. States perform the practical administration of applications, renewal, and reinstatement of CDLs and may set even higher standards for some elements of CDL qualification. On the federal level, the FMCSA has established 0.04% to be the BAC at or above which a driver may be disqualified from holding a CDL, and Oklahoma’s laws are the same. 47 O.S. § 6-205.2. You will be disqualified from holding a CDL for one year if you are convicted of your first DUI or if you refuse to submit to a breath or blood test. If it is your second conviction, you will be disqualified for life. If you were transporting hazardous materials when the DUI occurred, your minimum disqualification will be 3 years.
Further, the FMCSA requires that drivers notify their employers within 30 days of a conviction for any traffic violation, including a DUI, regardless if the driver was driving a commercial vehicle at the time. If a driver’s license was suspended or revoked at the time of the DUI arrest, the driver must notify the employer by the end of the next business day following the suspension.
In Oklahoma, you may request a hearing regarding suspension or revocation of your driver’s license within 15 days of your arrest, but the Department of Public Safety can only award you a “modified” non-commercial license, not a CDL, at the hearing. You cannot obtain a CDL work permit or CDL hardship license. If you have any amount of alcohol in your system under 0.04%, you may be prohibited from driving a commercial vehicle for 24 hours.
As you can see, your job may be in jeopardy if your employer requires you to drive a commercial vehicle and hold a CDL. Act quickly after an arrest to secure legal counsel and obtain a hearing with the DPS.
Need an attorney for DUI charges in Oklahoma? Seek out the attorney who is in court nearly every day and teaches other attorneys and law enforcement about sobriety testing techniques. Clint Patterson, Esq., of Patterson Law Firm, a former Tulsa prosecutor now using his trial experience and expert-level knowledge of DUI science to defend drivers, has the experience and the insight to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your case. To schedule a case evaluation, visit Patterson Law Firm online or call Clint’s office at (918) 550-9175.