Senior CDL holders should always educate on the topic of suspended CDL licenses. It is important to know that you must abide by all federal and state standards or risk having a suspended CDL license, or worse, revoked or canceled CDL credentials. A commercial drivers license suspension can be the result of several types of violations that occur in a commercial vehicle or a non-commercial vehicle. If a senior driver commits a driving violation other than a minor parking violation, he or she could lose the privilege of driving professionally. But, depending on the infraction, reinstating suspended CDL license credentials is possible. Senior drivers need to show excellent judgment in all vehicle types, regardless of if they are on the clock or not. A senior’s driving privilege depends on how he or she acts behind the wheel of a vehicle, which should be at the forefront at all times. Learn more about suspended CDL license reinstatement in the sections outlined below.
Reasons for Commercial Driving License Suspensions
CDL suspension can happen to senior drivers due to several different scenarios. For example, a suspended CDL can occur when a senior driver fails a drug or alcohol test by testing positive or registering a 0.04 percent Blood Alcohol Content, or greater. Your suspended CDL license will remain on your record until the successful completion of the return-to-duty process, which is administered by a professional in substance abuse. If you refuse to submit a drug or alcohol test, this is equivalent to testing positive to an alcohol or drug test.
A suspended CDL license can also occur if a senior driver is caught driving a commercial vehicle in a category other than the one in which he or she has self-certified. This can result in a CDL suspension, or even the possibility of having his or her commercial driving privileges revoked. A senior driver is also subject to a suspended CDL, and will not be eligible to drive a vehicle that requires a CDL if he or she has not updated the state with the expiration date of his or her CDL medical documentation, in the form of the Medical Examination Certificate.
How will I be notified about a CDL Suspension as a senior?
A commercial drivers license suspension can result if a senior driver fails to notify his or her employer of any traffic violations, other than parking violations. A driver must notify his or her employee within 30 days of any serious traffic violations.
You are required to notify your employer of a commercial drivers license suspension, or if your license has been revoked, canceled or if you have been disqualified from driving. You must also notify your employer by the end of the next business day following the notice of your lost driving privilege, or risk license disqualification.
Employers are forbidden to knowingly use a senior driver who has a suspended CDL license, or one with a CDL that has been revoked or canceled. Employers who violate these requirements may be subject to civil or criminal penalties.
What are the violations for a Commercial Drivers License suspension?
The length of a suspended CDL depends on the kind of offense a senior driver has committed, in a commercial or non-commercial vehicle, and may last from a couple of months to indefinitely. A commercial driving license suspension can result in varying disqualification for a senior driver’s first violation, and a second major violation – in a commercial or non-commercial vehicle – may result in a lifetime disqualification, but there is a possibility that he or she may be able to have a suspended CDL license reinstated.
A commercial drivers license suspension can be the result of a senior driver falsifying information on any of the required certifications needed when learning how to obtain a CDL. The state will, at a minimum, suspend a CDL or his or her pending application for no less than 60 consecutive days. If a driver’s conviction of fraud regards this issuance, the state must record the withdrawal on the senior driving record, and he or she may not reapply for a least one year. If a state receives verifiable information that a senior CDL driver is suspected, but there is no conviction of fraud about the issuance of the license, the state must require the senior driver to retake the test in question. If the senior driver does not retake the test within 30 days of notice, the state will suspend the CDL license.
Who is in charge of reinstating a suspended CDL license?
When it comes to suspended CDL license reinstatement, it is up to the state to determine the application process, fees, renewal cycles and procedures and reinstatement requirements for a commercial driver’s license suspension. Just as long as federal standards and criteria are upheld, states may exceed federal standards for certain criteria such as fitness, medical and other qualifications. Your state may require retesting and additional fees to get back your CDL privileges.
How to Reinstate a Suspended CDL License as a Senior
Getting a suspended CDL license reinstated depends on the type of infraction a senior driver has incurred. If the Medical Examiner’s Certificate has expired, you must obtain a new one and provide it to your state. If you require a variance and it has expired, for CDL reinstatement to occur, you must renew it. If allowed by your state, you may change your self-certification to an operating category that does not require a medical certificate.
If disqualified for two serious traffic violations and the senior driver has had a suspended CDL license reinstated, but commits a third serious violation and the three years have not elapsed since the original violation, then the driver is now subject to a full 120-day disqualification period. Each serious disqualification must be served consecutively.
A commercial driving license suspension that is the result of a senior driver using a vehicle of any sort for the use of a felony, which includes distributing, manufacturing or dispensing a controlled substance, will be a disqualification for life – without any possibility of reinstatement.