CDL and a speeding ticket. Advice?

So, I just got my CDL learners permit. Going for class A with passenger, air brakes, and manual trans. I'm calling the driving school today to get started with the on the road driver training so i can go in and take the driving tests later.



Last week, as I was finishing my studying to get the learners, just before going in for the learners tests, I got a ticket. 54 in a 45. I was actually going like 61 or so but he trooper was kind enough to reduce it a little so it's under ten over. A warning would have been even better but oh well it was still kind of her. It's a no points violation and not reckless or anything but I'm sure it will show up on my MVR. I have no real excuse, I just wasn't paying attention and let the peddle get away from me. I'm not even normally a speeder which is why my record is spotless otherwise.

How bad will this hurt me as I try to get my first driving job?

I have no other incidents on my record, it's squeaky clean otherwise. The only reason I'm worried is I know I'm going to be looking for my first driving job soon and that's hard enough without experience that I don't want anything else working against me.

Should I just pay the fine and move on?
Should I go to court and try to plead not guilty and maybe hope the trooper doesn't show?
--Lawyer/no lawyer?

There is also a "guilty but requesting a waiver" option that lets you say basically "yeah I did it but I'm hoping you'll let me slide". I was thinking of checking that box and trying something with the judge like "my CDL studies have made me more aware of the dangers of speeding, I've taken the equivalent of an advanced defensive driving course since the ticket, I'm going to be held to a higher standard now in the future (like a defacto driving probation), my record is spotless otherwise, please don't kill my new career before it even starts." Bitch... moan.. whine because I am totally guilty and was definitely speeding and really have no legit reason you say not guilty but they do it that checkbox on there for a reason right? If it weren't for the CDL thing I'd just own up and pay it and move on but...

Any thoughts?

 

I work for JBH..

If you applied, I would probably be allowed to hire you. You don't have your CDL yet so that helps.

 

I’d go with that approach.

 

Yeah with a squeaky clean record you should probably just admit your mistake and ask for forgiveness

I got a bad speeding ticket one time in my life- otherwise my record is spotless. When I showed up to court for that one incident where I was going 20mph over- the judge gave me back my license said free to go

 

Sweet my first job offer

Just kidding

It's the "probably" that worries me.

Anyway that's a couple of votes for the last option which is how I was leaning myself.

The good news is I also have at least one person telling me even if it doesn't work I'd still be "hireable" so that's encouraging. Even if the judge didn't let me slide it's "probably" not a career killer.

 

Yeah you should be fine. FYI JBH wont hire anyone without 6 months driving experience. Just so you know.

 

That's the way a lot of places are it seems which can make it hard to break in. Some places still hire newbs though so I'm sure I'll find something. There seems to be good demand.

I have several reasons not to want to do otr for long hauls and a lot of the places that hire fresh meat are otr operations. I'm hoping to find a local company that needs a dump or mixer driver or something, or maybe passenger transport though I'm not too stoked about dealing with people. I know the reality is on probably just have to take what I can get and deal with it for at least a year though to gain experience.

How hard is it to switch focus? Like say my first job is driving a commuter bus, is it realistic to hope to switch to a dump truck or something else a year down the road or do you get stuck always driving what you have experience in?

 

you definitely get siloed by recruiters. Pick your transport mode wisely. The first one is going to be OTR with no experience that's almost unavoidable.
But the 2nd and 3rd job, pick a mode and stick with it.

 

Any tips on how to figure out what direction to go in? I'll admit driving was not my first career choice and won't be my first career. I'm a bit over 40 and coming into it late with little to no experience with commercial driving.

I don't really know what types of driving would suit me best... and worse, I don't know how to figure that out. I wanted options, which is why I'm trying to get the class A with that passenger endorsement and manual trans. I figure if I can get all that I'll be able to drive most stuff other than doubles/triples, tankers, and hazmat which I doubt anybody would even LET me drive without more experience anyway so why bother at first.

I just don't know enough to know what kind of commercial vehicle I might prefer to drive. Will that come with a little time in, and talking to other drivers maybe?

Thanks for your replies by the way. I appreciate it.

 

I do know that my local school districts will train their drivers at no cost to them. They only train to the level required to drive a school bus, but that's a start. I have an acquaintance that started driving buses and moved to OTR. I don't remember him saying anything about it being hard to make the transition. (other than he didn't like his trainer.) He only did OTR for a year or so and then he moved to a local, driving a delivery truck.

I drove a dump truck for a while. I liked parts of it. Parts I hated. And, I especially hated passenger cars.

Good luck!

 

It all depends on what you want out of it. The heavier the loads, the more hazmat the load, the more miles, the more time spent in the truck = more money.

In trucking, "more" = money. So you have decided what you want to give first, then go from there.

 

Always fight tickets because a clean record gives you more of a buffer the next time you get ticketed for something serious (like running a stop sign). It also keeps your insurance rates low.

If it's one charge, fight it without a lawyer or paralegal.

Read up on ticket defense techniques. Was the cop in a marked or unmarked vehicle? Were there other vehicles in adjacent lanes? Were the speed limits the same in both directions of the road? When the officer shows up in trial, these factors can help you introduce reasonable doubt in cross examination.

"Guilty with explanation" usually just reduces the fine $ amt without dropping the charge, so no good here. You can also do all the explaining in trial even if you plead not guilty.

 

I find that to be true with most things though. The more you put in, the more you get out (with some obvious exceptions, but as a rule of thumb).

 

Maybe check with your local tow company, always looking for heavy drivers. Most will pay by the run. But its a start. You can drive lowboy and wrecker.

 

Thanks to all who replied. I decided to consult a lawyer and plead not guilty. I'll have the lawyer help me get the best result we can at the trial too. I know representation might not be strictly required for this, but that's what I'm going with. Around here I feel like the judges, cops, etc. are more likely to talk to and negotiate with a lawyer than a layman and I'll get a better outcome that way. It's an "insider" thing.

I'll try to remember to come back and update this in a couple months when things resolve.

Also thanks for the general driving career advice. I think I need to do more research in the near future and try to figure out what I want to do with this license once I get it. I still want to get a full class A with air brakes, passenger, and manual trans so I have some options over the near future but I'll try to figure out where I want to start at least.

Thanks!

 

I know this problem has been solved... but for future issues.

I got my CDL in 2007 with 3 speeding tickets still on my record. When I applied for Swift (yes I know all the acronyms) the HR lady told me those tickets do weigh a lot but wont prevent me from being hired. She also gave me a word of advice: dont get a DUI. in the trucking industry that is pretty much an automatic kiss of death. Dont matter how old... you ever get one your chances of getting a trucking job pretty much drop to zero.

Keep that in mind as you proceed in your future as a truck driver.

 

Thanks for the reply.

I did get my CDL. Class A with no restrictions, plus the passenger endorsement. Now I'm slowly starting to look for my first driving job. I'd like to find something with a truck and trailer to actually use the A class on the license. But if I have to I'll get whatever I can find.

The county still hasn't even set a court date for the ticket. Since I figure I'm innocent until proven guilty, I also figure I have a perfectly clean driving record at this time at least until I go to court for that ticket. So maybe I can just land a job before then and not have to worry about it either because it will be dropped at court or because it simply hasn't been applied to my record yet.

I don't drink and drive. I never have and don't plan to start now. In fact, I don't even drink much at all these days.

 

I work for a food service company as a class a delivery driver (think sysco us foods). We take rookies and are self insured so we would hire someone like you

 

For those that wanted a follow up on this, it turned out good!

I pled not guilty, hired a lawyer and went to the hearing. The officer didn't show up so, not guilty.

Really, the lawyer didn't do anything for me because of that. I'm okay with that because lawyers are there to get you the best outcome when things aren't breaking in your direction, but are not as useful when things are going well. Kind of like insurance I guess.

The judge was being very lenient that day anyway. All those that pled not guilty or even guilty with an explanation were getting probation before judgement (no points) if they hadn't had it recently, or if they were under 25 (I'm not) they were offered a class on defensive driving instead of the ticket. One gal was even caught doing 90 in a 35 in the heart of town and was given the class and let off! So I'd have probably had a good outcome with or without the lawyer, but I felt more confident with him given the stakes.

The cost of the ticket plus court costs would have been about half what I paid the lawyer... so I guess it wasn't really all that expensive either. I've spent more on stupider stuff that's for sure.