Even though speeding is the top ticket for all types of drivers, in all kinds of vehicles, a speeding in a commercial vehicle ticket could be much worse than your regular driving counterpart.

Commercial drivers are almost always held to a higher standard than the guy or gal who drives back and forth to work every day and the occasional trip to the grocery store. Plus, California restricts most commercial vehicles to a speed limit of 55 mph. That old excuse, I’m from Oregon or Nevada, doesn’t work on most CA judges; they’ve heard it too many times.

Speeding in a Commercial Vehicle Is Common in CA  

Yes, just like your four-wheel driving peers, speeding is the number one traffic offense year after year. However, commercial drivers or CDL holders get 50 percent more negligent operator treatment system (NOTS) points added for their conviction.

CA Vehicle Code (CVC) Section 12810.5, Issuance and Renewal of Licenses authorizes the DMV to administer the NOTS program in CA. It states that drivers that accumulate four or more NOTS points within one year, six within two, or eight within three years is considered a prima facie negligent operator.

According to the Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute (LII), prima facie is Latin for "at first sight." Basically, what that means is you are “presumed” to be a negligent operator. Still, you can request and appear before a DMV NOTS hearing to obtain additional leeway if most of your NOTS points were due to violations in your personal vehicle. 

When that occurs, and the DMV considers your NOTS points were received due to your added “amount of use or mileage traveled in the operation of a motor vehicle,” they can allow a commercial driver to accumulate six or more NOTS points within one year, eight within two, or ten within three years before you are considered a negligent operator. 

Thus, when a driver gets a speeding in a commercial vehicle conviction, and the DMV adds the 1.5 NOTS points, it could all equal out, provided you take the proper steps to get more leeway. That includes requesting a DMV NOTS Hearing immediately after receiving an “Order of Suspension/Probation” from the DMV. You only have ten days to do so from the date the DMV mailed the notice to you. And, we both know you could be out on the road longer than that and not get to check the mail.

If someone at home receives the notice, have them contact Bigger & Harman, the Bakersfield, CA traffic attorneys who can assist you with a DMV NOTS hearing appearance. Although you don’t legally need an attorney, we’re here to help.

Not purely out of the goodness of our hearts, but because that is our profession. Yours is to deliver America’s cargo; ours is to ensure you keep your CDL and driving record clean so that you can continue to do that, even after a speeding in a commercial vehicle ticket.    

Help for Speeding in a Commercial Vehicle Ticket in Truckee Traffic Court

Many truckers coming across I-80 from Nevada might not be aware of the statewide 55 mph speed limit. You might have your governor set to 62 and figure that is good. However, many CHP are out there on I-80 looking for commercial vehicles.

The CHP know, like we do, that you spend a great deal of time out there on the road. Most truckers will just “mail it in,” and pay the fine so they can “keep on trucking.” When you get a ticket for speeding in a commercial vehicle, call Bigger & Harman, (661) 349-9300. 

We are solely traffic defense attorneys. That’s all we do. Sitting in traffic court waiting for our client’s case to be called is like you looking out the windshield of that Peterbilt, or what have you. You see lots of America, and we hear lots of traffic cases.

We know the judges and the CHP officers. We know when to ask to get a dismissal, and we know whom to ask to get a reduced non-moving violation conviction where you only pay a fine with no points. It’s what we are good at doing.

Email: attorney@biggerharmanlaw.com. 

Se habla Español (661) 349-9755.

References:

The 2019-2021 CA Commercial Driver Handbook.pdf