Louisiana motorists may be shocked to learn that a repeat-DUI offender who is also a commercial truck driver was recently arrested again, this time for driving his commercial truck with a blood alcohol concentration that was more than seven times higher than the legal limit. The incident happened in Illinois on March 21.
The truck driver, who is from California, was also charged with failing to keep log book records for a week before the incident and driving while in possession of alcohol. Members of the Illinois State Police said that the man was convicted in Massachusetts in 2007 for multiple DUI offenses while driving his commercial truck. He was also convicted twice in 2012 in Connecticut for committing alcohol-related offenses while driving.
It is unclear how the man possibly could still have a commercial driver’s license after all of those prior convictions. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration reacted to the man’s latest offense by issuing a federal off-the-road-order in the interest of public safety.
It is very lucky that this man has apparently not caused a tractor-trailer accident with his history. When a commercial truck driver causes an accident, the victims are likely to suffer permanent and severe injuries that require expensive medical care, and many of those who are injured are no longer able to earn a living. People who have been injured in collisions caused by negligent truck drivers may want to seek help from personal injury lawyers in seeking damages from both the truck driver and, if the driver was on the clock at the time, the trucking company itself under the theory of vicarious liability.
Source: Overdrive Online, “FMCSA shuts down Calif.-based driver after multiple DUI convictions,” April 4, 2016
