Sarasota Commercial (CDL) DUI Lawyer

Were you charged with a DUI while driving a truck, van, or other commercial vehicle? Your job and your financial security could be at stake.

There’s no time to wait when facing serious criminal charges. Get in touch with a Sarasota commercial DUI lawyer here at Titan Law for a free strategy session as soon as possible. We’ll go over the details of your arrest, what you can expect to deal with during your case, and how we can help.

What Leads to a Commercial Drunk Driving Charges?

Anyone driving a commercial vehicle, whether a sedan used for traveling between local sales stops or a tractor-trailer hauling goods intra or interstate, is held to higher standards than passenger vehicle drivers. In Florida, any of these motorists stopped on suspicion of driving while intoxicated by drugs or alcohol risks being arrested on commercial DUI charges if:

• Law enforcement locates open containers in your vehicle
• The responding officer finds your appearance to suggest you’re under the influence of a controlled substance (i.e., you have bloodshot or glassy eyes)
• You’re acting in a concerning way that indicates you may be intoxicated (i.e., you’re slurring your speech or have an unsteady gait)
• There’s a smell of alcohol or drugs on your breath or vehicle
• You submit to blood or breath testing, and you test as having a 0.04% BAC

You read that last point correctly. The legal limit commercial drivers can have before being designated as having BAC above the legal limit when operating a vehicle for their job is half that of other motorists.

This is why it’s critical that you reach out to a Sarasota commercial DUI lawyer if you were stopped on suspicion of drugged or drunk driving while operating an automobile for your job. You need to in order to build a strong defense against the allegations you face that could affect your livelihood.

How a Commercial DUI in Sarasota Can Affect Your Future

As mentioned above, a breath or blood test refusal can result in the automatic suspension of your Florida driver’s license for a year. However, what consequences might you face if you actually did participate in a field sobriety testing or a breath test that perhaps substantiated police officers’ initial inclinations that you were drunk or operating a commercial vehicle under the influence of drugs?

You could not only end up having a suspended license but, if convicted of such an offense, have the following punishments imposed:

• A requirement to complete an alcohol or drug education program
• Community service or as long as six months in jail plus probation
• Up to $1,000 in fines

Of course, these punishments often lead to you having the DUI listed on your permanent record, which could make it challenging to become re-employed with your current company (once your license suspension is up). Plus, it could make it hard to find a job, whether in the transportation sector or not, in the future.

Such a conviction on your record could also impact your ability to obtain an education, housing, and certain professional certifications. This is why you’ll certainly want one of your first calls after your arrest and release from jail to be a Sarasota commercial DUI lawyer like ours. Get in touch with us now for a free strategy call.