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DMV Victory at a Commercial Negligent Operator Hearing at Bakersfield DSO

Case History: California Drivers Advocates was engaged to defend a client whose commercial driver license was in jeopardy of being suspended for one year because the Department of Motor Vehicles had identified him as a Negligent Operator. The department’s computer database was reporting that he had accumulated a total of four violation points in a twelve-month period. The number had been achieved as a result of two speeding tickets and one “at fault” traffic accident.

As a commercial truck driver, our client’s livelihood is based upon his ability to operate a tractor-trailer combination to transport cargo to various locations throughout the lower 48 states.  Our client’s income was based upon his ability to drive an average of 150,000 miles per year and as the father of three young children, several people rely upon his ability to drive.

DMV’s Position: The California DMV’s position was crystal clear.  Under California Vehicle Code section 13953, the DMV is empowered to immediately suspend or revoke the driving privilege of any person who drives in a manner that is unsafe for himself or other persons on the roadway.  Vehicle Code section 12810.5 identifies the maximum number of NOTS points a driver may accumulate in a given period of time.  If that maximum number is exceeded, the DMV presumes the driver to be negligent and the process to suspend or revoke the driver license is initiated.

It is also important to note that commercial drivers accumulatedpoints at 1.5 times the rate of a passenger car driver.  So, a speeding ticket is a one-point violation for the average Class “C” driver, where the same speeding ticket accounts for 1.5 violation points for the Class “A” driver. It was the DMV’s goal to remove our Client from the road unless he could convince the department otherwise.

Our Defense: When our client retained us, we immediately went to work to schedule his Negligent Operator Hearing at the Driver Safety Office in the City of Bakersfield.  We also immediately requested and were granted a “Stay of Suspension” which stopped the intended suspension of his driver license until the conclusion of our hearing.  This permitted our client to continue driving commercial vehicles while we prepared to fight his case.

Early in our investigation, we learned that our client’s driving history had been remarkably clean for years.  Also, while interviewing our client, we learned quickly that he held a special endorsement for hauling hazardous material.  This is important because any Commercial Driver who does not haul Hazardous Material or Passengers may have their maximum point allowance increased, if certain criteria are met.  In a normal case, a Hazardous Material Endorsement would preclude our Client from qualifying for the higher court; however, we learned something interesting.  In speaking with our client we learned that he no longer required the Hazardous Material Endorsement and we also learned that his Class “A” driver license was due for renewal prior to our scheduled hearing.

Using our training and experience, we directed our Client to renew his driver license and as part of the renewal process to relinquish the Haz Mat Endorsement. This was a critically important move.

At the hearing, we introduced our client’s testimony in which he accepted responsibility for his poor driving behavior.  More importantly, we introduced evidence that he had just renewed his Commercial Driver License and had eliminated the Hazardous Material Endorsement in the process.  The hearing officer was shocked by the strategic move but admitted it was brilliant.  By dropping the Hazardous Material Endorsement prior to the beginning of the hearing our Client was now eligible to have his maximum point count level increased from 4 to 6.  This immediately defeated the DMV’s case and we won.

At the conclusion of the Negligent Operator Hearing, the hearing officer completely agreed with our argument and took the extraordinary act of “Setting Aside” the allegation on the spot.  We were able to save our client’s commercial driving privilege and he is safely driving our highways today.

 

Call CDA Today.  Let us put you on the road to victory!

The DMV Defense Experts at California Drivers Advocates include former police officers, DMV Hearing Officers, Investigators and Scientists.  Our training, our experience and our reputation provide any driver the best opportunity to win their Administrative Hearing.  Whatever legal or scientific defense your case requires, CDA is ready to fight for you.

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