DUI Charges with a Commercial Driver’s License
Driving under the influence (DUI) laws specify conditions for various types of DUI crimes, such as different kinds of intoxications, as well as separate penalties for those who are arrested for driving under the influence and holding a commercial driver’s license. The specific California code that relates to this crime is the California Vehicle Code 23152(d) VC. Under this code, if the driver of the commercial vehicle submits to a breathalyzer test and the results show a blood alcohol concentration of 0.04 percent or higher, then the driver is guilty of having driven under the influence.
This test does not require the driver to be even driving the said commercial vehicle at the time; simply holding a commercial driver’s license is enough to submit an individual to this limit. The blood alcohol concentration limit for those with a commercial driver’s license is much lower than for other drivers, hence the separate regulations (0.04 percent for commercial vehicle drivers versus 0.08 percent for other license holders).
Penalties and Potential Defenses for a DUI with a Commercial Driver’s License
If convicted of this crime, the driver will not be allowed to drive a commercial vehicle for at least one year. Other penalties are similar to those with non-commercial driver’s licenses: up to one year in a county jail, fines of up to $1,000, DUI probation, or attendance at a DUI school. As any other DUI conviction, if as a result of being under the influence, the commercial driver causes injury to another person, the misdemeanor increases to a felony charge with a sentence in a California state prison facility.
However, if the defendant has been wrongly accused of driving under the influence, there are possible defenses an experienced attorney can present to the court. A potential defense can include arguing that the defendant was never under any influence while driving with a commercial driver’s license, and one way this can be proven is by showing that the breathalyzer results were inaccurate.
