If you have a Commercial Driver’s License in Illinois, you need to know about the severe impact a
DUI arrest can have on your CDL, as the rules regarding CDL holders and alcohol are very strict. Wayne Brucar, a
DUI attorney at Brucar & Yetter, P.C., explains that the rules surrounding alcohol and CDL’s apply even if you are not driving a commercial vehicle.
“If you are driving your personal car and are stopped by the police on suspicion of DUI, you must submit to a test to determine your blood alcohol concentration,” says Mr. Brucar. “If you refuse to submit to blood alcohol testing, your CDL privileges will be disqualified for a minimum of one year.” Mr. Brucar also explains that if you are driving a commercial vehicle and you submit to alcohol testing, your blood alcohol concentration must be below 0.04. If you register at or above 0.04 your CDL will be disqualified for a minimum of one year. Furthermore, if you are driving a non-commercial vehicle and you submit to blood alcohol testing, if the result is at or above 0.08, your CDL will be disqualified for at least one year.
These rules have anything to do with whether or not you are eventually found guilty of a criminal offense in court. If you are properly asked by a police officer to submit to blood alcohol testing, you have to submit or your CDL will be disqualified.
CDL holders need to be aware that the stringent rules which apply to CDL’s apply whether or not you are driving a commercial vehicle. “Sometimes people think that if they are driving their personal car and it is not a commercial motor vehicle, then the CDL rules do not apply to them. This is not the case,” says Mr. Brucar. “If you possess a CDL, the special rules regarding CDL’s apply to you regardless of the vehicle you are driving.”
What can a DUI arrest mean for a CDL holder? It can mean an end to your livelihood.
Wayne Brucar is a partner at the firm of Brucar & Yetter, P.C. with offices in Wheaton, Rolling Meadows and St. Charles, Illinois. More information is available at his free website:
www.brucarandyetter.com. The attorneys at Brucar & Yetter, P.C. focus on
criminal defense, Secretary of State hearings, appellate court work and expungement matters.
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