Maysville DUI Lawyer

If you have been charged with DUI in Maysville or anywhere else in Jackson County, you need to call one of our DUI Attorneys in Maysville. With over 25 years of DUI defense experience, we guarantee there is no one better to assist with your case. Call now for a free case evaluation.

CDL Drivers and DUI in Georgia

If you hold a commercial drivers license (CDL) and you are pulled over on suspicion of DUI, you face a very different process than other drivers. Key differences with a commercial driver DUI include:

• The “legal limit” for your blood alcohol level is much stricter at .04% BAC
• You could lose your CDL and your ability to work for a full year, or even for life
• Your CDL is in danger even if you were off the job, driving your own personal vehicle

Any commercial driver needs to take a DUI charge very seriously. It can be a career-ending event. But there are a number of strategies that a DUI lawyer can use to fight for you, and in many cases you could end up with no DUI on your record at all.

What counts as a DUI for commercial drivers?

It depends on what vehicle you were driving, and what specific law you are charged with breaking.

If you were driving a commercial vehicle at the time of your DUI arrest, Georgia law allows you to be charged with DUI if your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was .04% or above. For many people, one drink is enough to put them over the .04% limit.

If you are driving your own personal vehicle, the .04% limit does not apply and you will be charged with a different law. If you are charged with a major traffic violation, a conviction can result in the disqualification of your Commercial Drivers License (CDL). The most common major traffic violations are:

• Driving with a BAC of .08% or greater
• Driving under the influence (DUI less safe)
• Driving under the influence of drugs
• Driving on a suspended license
• Failing to report an accident

Each of these offenses carries its own penalties, in addition to its affect on your CDL.

How does my DUI affect my CDL?

Your CDL will be suspended if you are convicted of any DUI offense—regardless of what vehicle you were driving. This is part of Georgia's rules for commercial driver safety, which count any DUI, even “off the clock,” against your CDL.

If you are convicted:

• You will lose your CDL for 1 year on a first-time DUI charge
• You will lose your CDL for life if this is not your first DUI

How to Keep Your CDL

Just because you are charged with DUI does not mean you will be convicted. And if you aren't convicted, you won't lose your CDL. This is also true if you can get your case downgraded to a much less serious charge. A good DUI lawyer will use several strategies to fight your case:

• Challenging whether the arrest was legal
• Using police mistakes to get evidence suppressed
• Challenging the breath or blood test used to “prove” you were impaired

In many cases, any one of these strategies is enough to suppress evidence against you and help you win your case. Your DUI arrest does not have to be the end of your career.

Contact Us Today

If you have been charged with DUI as someone who holds a CDL license, you need to contact our office immediately. Our Maysville DUI Lawyers have decades of experience defending CDL drivers and know how to protect your career. Contact us today for a free case evaluation.