DUI

My district mate confessed to me this morning that he got a DUI last night. Is he pretty much screwed? How long before fleet finds out?

 

He might be ok. He needs to report it now. No bonus or MBO payout for at least one year. It is not the death sentence it used to be. They will fire him if not reported now. They usually run MVR's end of year.

 

he is toast

 

I had a counterpart who won circle one year, but got a moving violation that year. He lost it. I also know a hospital rep who did the same thing and lost it.

If you have a DUI where you lose driving privileges, I don't know how well that would work out, but better to report it and be honest as opposed to facing certain death unreported.

 

tell him to call hr and his manager and claim he has a drinking problem and needs help and rehab. AZ won't fire him if he has a problem and is willing to work through it. at a bare minimum, it would buy him several months before termination and allow him to work.

 

Keep his/her mouth shut! Start looking for another job. They will can them the instant they find out.

 

Once a year AZ runs all of our driving records. This a damned if you do or don't. I would fight it and try to get it removed from your record. Then there is nothing to report. Better call an attorney.

 

You are not guilty of a crime until after your day in court; if you win the case you are "not guilty," right now a government agent (the cop) has a case against you but he must prove it to a judge. If you've got a good lawyer you can delay the trial for a year or more.

You should not be required to alert your boss to every allegation made against you. If they fire you for failing to report a pending trial for DUI (a trial where you intend to plead
"not guilty" because you are not guilty) then you've got an easy win wrongful termination case. Slam dunk.

 

Oh hell yes you are required to notify AZ if you got a DUI or any other violation! Somebody has given you the wrong information bucko! You could get fired if they find out you got one and didn't tell them, even though you were acquitted.

 

This is true. If you claim that you have a substance abuse problem, AZ will not fire you as long as you are seeking help. This is exactly what I would do and why AZ has substance abuse support programs.

 

1. ILLEGAL STOP OF PERSON OR VEHICLE – a driver cannot be stopped unless the officer has a reasonable and articulate basis to believe that a traffic law or other law has been violated. Similarly, a person cannot be seized unless a violation has occurred.
   
   
2. WEAVING INSIDE THE LANES IS NOT ILLEGAL – weaving without crossing any lines is not a violation of the law, and a vehicle cannot be stopped for that reason.
   
   
3. ANONYMOUS REPORT OF DRUNK DRIVING – a car cannot be stopped simply because an anonymous citizen reported that the driver was drunk.
   
   
4. STANDARD FIELD SOBRIETY TESTING IS INACCURATE – in healthy individuals, the one-leg stand test is only 65% accurate, and the walk-and-turn test is only 68% accurate in determining if a person is under the influence. Those persons with injuries, medical conditions, 50 pounds or greater overweight, and 65 years or older cannot be validly judged by these tests.
   
   
5. NON-STANDARDIZED FIELD TESTS ARE INVALID – neither the Federal Government (NHTSA) nor medical science considers touching your finger to your nose, or saying the alphabet, or counting backwards, as valid sobriety tests.
   
   
6. BREATH TESTING IS INACCURATE –virtually all experts concede that one breath test alone is unreliable. Breath testing is subject to various inaccuracies, including a variance as much s +/- 12.5%, non-specificity for ethanol, etc.
   
   
7. BOOKING ROOM VIDEOS – Many police stations videotape suspects at the police station, where their speech is clear and their balance is perfect, in spite of police testimony to the contrary.
   
   
8. IN-SQUAD VIDEOS – more and more often, the suspect’s driving and performance on field tests is being recorded; often contradicting police testimony.
   
   
9. FAILURE TO PROVIDE SPEEDY TRIAL – If a client is not provided with a trial within a certain period of time, which varies between states, through delays of the court or prosecutor, the charges must be dismissed.
   
   
10. POLICE BLOOD TEST INACCURATE –Many times, police blood testing fails to follow prescribed rules of testing, analysis, or preservation recommendations.
    
    
11. HOSPITAL BLOOD TEST INACCURATE – Hospital blood tests overestimate a person’s true level by as much as 25% in healthy, uninjured individuals, and are not statistically reliable in severely injured persons.
    
    
12. BREATH TEST OPERATOR UNLICENSED – Most states require a Breath Test Operator to possess a valid, unexpired operator’s license, or the breath test result is inadmissible.
    
    
13. BREATHALYZER MACHINE MALFUNCTIONS – Most states specify that if there is a malfunction or repair of the breath test instrument within a certain period of time before or after a suspect’s breath test, the results of the suspect’s test are presumed invalid.
    
    
14. BREATH TEST OPERATOR LICENSE EXPIRED – Most states require that a Breath Test Operator must possess an unexpired operator’s license, or the breath test result is inadmissible.
    
    
15. BREATH TEST DEVICE NOT APPROVED – A breath-testing instrument must be listed on the Federal List of Approved Breath Evidential Instruments and the ISP approved list of Devices, or the results are inadmissible.
    
    
16. FAILURE TO PROVE DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE – A defendant’s admission to driving, without more, does not prove a charge of driving under the influence.
    
    
17. INDEPENDENT WITNESSES – Often times, independent witnesses to accidents, bartenders, hospital personnel and others can provide crucial evidence of the defendant’s sobriety.
    
    
18. FAILURE TO MIRANDIZE – Prosecutors may not use as evidence the statements of a defendant in custody for a DUI when the police have failed to properly issue Miranda Warnings.
    
    
19. FIELD SOBRIETY TEST IMPROPERLY ADMINISTERED – According to the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration, improperly administered field tests are not valid evidence of intoxication.
    
    
20. OFFICER’S PRIOR DISCIPLINARY RECORD – A police officer’s previous disciplinary record can be used to attack the officer’s credibility .
    
    
21. PORTABLE BREATH TEST INADMISSIBLE – Most states prohibit the use of portable breath testing results as evidence at trial in a DUI case.
    
    
22. PORTABLE BREATH TEST IMPROPERLY ADMINISTERED – The manufacturers of portable breath testing devices require a minimum of two tests to consider the results evidential in nature.
    
    
23. FAILURE TO CONDUCT OBSERVATION PERIOD – Most states require that a driver be observed continuously for a minimum period, such as twenty minutes, prior to a breath test in order for the results to be considered admissible and valid.
    
    
24. EXPERT WITNESSES – Expert witnesses are available to review the validity of breath tests, blood tests and field sobriety tests.
    
    
25. MEDICAL AND HEALTH PROBLEMS –Medical problems with legs, arms, neck, back and eyes can affect the results of field sobriety tests. Further, other medical conditions can also affect the validity of breath test results.
    
    
26. BAD WEATHER – Weather reports establishing high winds, low visibility, and other conditions are available to explain poor driving or poor balance.
    
    
27. LACK OF PROBABLE CAUSE TO ARREST – A police officer must have specific and articulable facts to support any arrest for DUI, or the suspension will be reversed and the evidence suppressed at trial.
    
    
28. ILLEGAL SEARCH – The police are prohibited from searching a person or the automobile for a minor traffic offense, and may not search a car without a driver’s consent or probable cause. Any evidence illegally obtained is not admissible in court.
    
    
29. PRIOR INCONSISTENT STATEMENTS BY POLICE OFFICERS – Any statement made by a police officer, verbally, in police reports, or at previous court proceedings may be used to attack that officer’s credibility.
    
    
30. POST-DRIVING ABSORPTION OF ALCOHOL – The prosecutor must prove the blood or breath alcohol at the time of driving. Recent consumption of alcohol just prior to driving will cause the test results to be higher than what the true level was when the person was operating the automobile.
    
    
31. INTERFERING SUBSTANCES – Many items contain forms of alcohol, which may cause false results, such as asthma spray, cough drops, paints, fingernail polish. These items can cause the breath results to be invalid.
    
    
32. BREATH MACHINE NOT PROPERLY OPERATED – The manufacturers of breath testing devices have specified protocols, which must be followed for a breath result to be valid. Failure to follow these requirements will result in improper readings.
    
    
33. FAILURES TO PRODUCE DISPATCH TAPES – Most stops of vehicles are recorded on dispatch tapes, as well as recording police communications regarding an arrest of an individual. Failure to preserve such tapes upon request can cause all evidence, which could have been recorded to be suppressed.
    
    
34. MISLEADING STATEMENTS BY POLICE OFFICERS – Any misleading statement by the police regarding the consequences of taking (or refusing) a blood, breath, or urine test will cause the suspension to be reversed and removed from the driver’s record.
    
    
35. STATUTES OF LIMITATIONS – A misdemeanor charge of DUI must be filed within a certain period of time (which varies between states) of the date of offense, or the charges will be dismissed outright.
    
    
36. PRIVATE PROPERTY – A person who has not driven the car on a public highway cannot be suspended for drunk driving.
    
    
37. FAILURE TO DISCLOSE EXPERTS –The failure of the prosecutor to disclose the state’s expert(s) will cause those witnesses to be barred from testifying against the defendant.
    
    
38. LACTATE RINGERS – When hospital staff use lactate ringers during the treatment of a patient, the hospital blood serum results will report falsely elevated, and therefore invalid, readings.
    
    
39. FAILURE TO RECORD CERTIFICATION TESTS – the failure to include the value of the simulator solution used to test breath machines will cause the breath test results to be inadmissible in court against the driver.
    
    
40. BOOKING ROOM VIDEOS – Many police stations videotape the testing process. These tapes may establish that the testing procedure resulted in inaccurate or inadmissible tests due to burping, radio transmitters, and other improprieties.
    

 

No sure on this, but you could be right. So could everyone else. A moving violation or speeding ticket is one thing, an arrest is another. Here is the easy way to know for sure - look it up. I am not going to do anyone's homework here, but we all went through the same module on driver training from HR. If you have that module check it out or lookup the policy online. It should tell you very clearly if you have to report an "incident" or a DUI "conviction." If it's the later, I'd roll the dice. Don't report to the company, lawyer up and fight the charge. If it says to report the allegation or charge, then call HR and manager and say you've got a drinking problem. I've seen many a manager passed out at an NSM live to see another day by playing that card.

 

Don't count on it. My bs manager came over during the Amylin nonsense and rolled her sorry ass over to AZ. She got a DUI and still had a job. Her mugshot was my screensaver on my IPad. Everyone knew she had a history of getting drunk at meetings and would cry about why no one would marry her. When I quit AZ I included pictures of her mugshot in everything I needed to return.

 

Sadly, a lot can depend on how you are perceived and respected. They not, but we all know better. I've had two people I work with get a DUI and each turned out different in the last 2 years. One worked hard with upper management and they did everything to keep him, but they just couldn't get it to work. Another person must of had a better lawyer, got theirs dropped to public intox, even though originally a DUI. Story being, I would pay what ever it takes, work with your management and contact HR right away, unless of course you are already looking, then I would move fast. But if you try to get on with another pharmaceutical company, you know that is not going to happen for 7 years. Good luck, most anyone could of had this happen at certain times in their lives.

 

Sadly, a lot can depend on how you are perceived and respected. They say not, but we all know better. I've had two people I work with get a DUI and each turned out different in the last 2 years. One worked hard with upper management and they did everything to keep him, but they just couldn't get it to work. Another person must of had a better lawyer, got theirs dropped to public intox, even though originally a DUI. Story being, I would pay what ever it takes, work with your management and contact HR right away, unless of course you are already looking, then I would move fast. But if you try to get on with another pharmaceutical company, you know that is not going to happen for 7 years. Good luck, most anyone could of had this happen at certain times in their lives.

 

If the right people like you then you are o.k. if not then you will be fired. If you are a rep then you are automatically a goner. They only save the officers on board.

 

I know for a fact an AZ rep a few years ago got a dui. She reported immediately to her DSM. He went to bat for her because she was a good rep. She was ineligible for bonus etc. and on thin ice, but she survived and now it is ancient history.

 

Get an amazing lawyer, hopefully you didn't do a field sobriety test or blow. Claim you took an
Ambien and were sleep driving. Take it trial . It will buy tons of time...

 

The DSM could not have saved her alone, she had to have had the support of at least her Director. I remember when there used to be a few good Directors who would challenge legal and human resources to support good people. But don't count on it now.