Commercial Drivers /Professional Drivers

Virtually every product we have was delivered by a professional driver.  We depend upon them for our daily needs, yet rarely consider the impact they have on our lives.

Professional drivers face numerous challenges.  While on the job, they must be 100% focused at all times.  They navigate through narrow lanes and all types of traffic in gigantic vehicles year-round and in all weather.  Drivers of smaller vehicles often casually cause life-threatening situations for the professional.  Home and family are unseen for weeks at a time.  The fuel pump can represent a $1,000.00 purchase.

Driving 100,000 miles or more in one year is common for professionals.  Other drivers may take 5-10 years to accumulate so many miles.

As few as one or two tickets over a 3-year period could lead to automatic license suspension, meaning drivers can quickly and easily lose their ability to make a living.  That is roughly equivalent to a normal driver losing his license for getting one or two tickets in about 20 years. 

Even if a driver avoids suspension, a single ticket often leads to job loss.  Why?

A single ticket by one driver can drive up insurance rates for the entire fleet of a company, so very little is tolerated.  Other employers are hesitant to hire drivers without perfect driving records for the same reason.  If a driver is self-employed, that increased insurance cost directly impacts the bottom line and may ruin the business. 

Worse still, professional drivers face literally thousands of special laws, rules, and regulations other drivers cannot imagine.  Some of them are ridiculously unreasonable and unworkable.  Law enforcement officers are quick to pounce on the slightest infractions.  Even the best drivers can violate laws without realizing it.

The facts lead to one obvious conclusion: professional drivers desperately need legal representation when ticketed. 

Transportation law even treats some dismissed cases as convictions, so it is critical to hire an attorney who is familiar with laws affecting professional drivers.  Just because an attorney is willing to take your case does not mean you should hire that attorney.  Choose carefully.

This office has successfully handled literally hundreds of commercial driver cases and stands ready to handle yours.*  Please be advised that this office is not a cut-rate, bargain basement firm.  We charge more than most offices for tickets.  Free consultations are very limited. Contact us for more information.

*No guarantees can be made as to outcome of any case, no matter what the client pays. Phillip W. Goff is not certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, nor does that entity have a specialization for this area of law.

*All answers are limited to Texas.