No one in Statesville, North Carolina, wants to deal with a speeding or other traffic ticket. In addition to having to fork over a fine after getting caught going a few miles over the speed limit, for instance, a driver may also have to deal with points on their driving record and higher insurance premiums for the next several months.

For truckers and those who drive for a living, however, the consequences of even one traffic ticket or criminal traffic violation can be much more serious. For example, one drunk driving conviction, even in a personal vehicle, can disqualify a person from driving commercial vehicles for one year. A second offense could mean the loss of one’s commercial driving privileges for a decade. Other major violations, such as driving a commercial vehicle with more than .04 BAC or even negligently causing the death of another motorist, can result in the same penalties.

Moreover, even more than one speeding ticket can lead to a driver’s losing commercial driving privileges, if the ticket alleges that the driver was going at least 15 miles per hour over the speed limit. Following too closely and illegal lane changes are also considered “serious violations.” If a trucker acquires more than one of these in a three-year period, then he or she will serve at least a 60-day disqualification from commercial driving.

The bottom line is that truck drivers need to take all traffic tickets seriously, especially if they are “major” or “serious” violations and most especially if they allegedly happened while the driver was operating a commercial vehicle. It may be best in these sorts of situations for a person to seek out the help of an experienced criminal law and traffic ticket attorney.