Obviously a poor driving record would work against you in getting hired by a railroad in the first place.. but.. what if you're an experienced railroader with a good work record for performance and safety; and you get a speeding conviction or maybe even a DUI while off duty and driving your personal vehicle? Are you required to report that to your employer? Do they check it? Could you be disciplined/fired for it?
I've gotten more speeding tickets in more states than I care to count. Never affected me.
Never been the DUI route, I suspect the judicial proceedings surrounding DUI prosecutions may cause the individual to lose time from work - that may be excused or not. If not, that could be used against the individual in disciplinary actions.
I have no idea how any of this may apply to those who must have FRA certification for their positions.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
I've never had a DUI either but came perilously close to getting a whopper of a speeding ticket last October. Cop in Quebec pulled me over for doing 148 (km/hr) in a 100 zone. I thought I was going to get nailed for it with me being in Quebec and driving a car with Ontario tags. The cop asked for my license.. looked at it.. and started to laugh..Turns out he was someone I knew as a kid, and the traffic stop turned into a trip to a nearby donut shop to catch up with some old friends.. the odds of that happening? I wouldn't even venture a guess.. but pretty slim for sure.
If you have a DUI and cannot drive, you won't be a trainman long because you can't get to work.
if you have a DUI or drug or alcohol conviction, you will not be employed. (and it isn't just the railroads turning away prospective employees - One stupid move and you're toast and your character/reliability will remain in question.)Fail an RDT? -bye-bye! If you are a railroad employee and blow off the EAP counselors, bye-bye!
Ulrich I've never had a DUI either but came perilously close to getting a whopper of a speeding ticket last October. Cop in Quebec pulled me over for doing 148 (km/hr) in a 100 zone. I thought I was going to get nailed for it with me being in Quebec and driving a car with Ontario tags. The cop asked for my license.. looked at it.. and started to laugh..Turns out he was someone I knew as a kid, and the traffic stop turned into a trip to a nearby donut shop to catch up with some old friends.. the odds of that happening? I wouldn't even venture a guess.. but pretty slim for sure.
mudchicken EAP counselors
Waz? See I can do it too. I struggle on most of your postings to figure them out, but there is always at least one...
She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw
mudchicken Ulrich I've never had a DUI either but came perilously close to getting a whopper of a speeding ticket last October. Cop in Quebec pulled me over for doing 148 (km/hr) in a 100 zone. I thought I was going to get nailed for it with me being in Quebec and driving a car with Ontario tags. The cop asked for my license.. looked at it.. and started to laugh..Turns out he was someone I knew as a kid, and the traffic stop turned into a trip to a nearby donut shop to catch up with some old friends.. the odds of that happening? I wouldn't even venture a guess.. but pretty slim for sure. Your insurance premium just issued a sigh of relief
Your insurance premium just issued a sigh of relief
As did I!
Mookie he means Employee Assistance Programs the polite way to say Drug rehab programs in office speak. You think losing your license is bad if your a railroader try this side of the fence if you want fun. Not only can and will a state take away your license from a CDL holder for about anything then they make it even worse. States will suspend a CDL for back child support when the driver is trying to pay it off yet then scream at him when he can't make the support payments after his CDL was suspended. Hello you took his job from him anyone think it out first. Or their dracoinian DUI rules for CDL holders .04 bac and your considered impared even in a POV according to the latest regs we were handed. Then we have the points they assign to tickets that mean nothing to safety when a seatbelt cost more towards a suspension than a DUI something is messed up.
So yeah having to maintain a license as part of a career is one heck of an occupational hazard that a lot of people across this nation do. I feel so sorry for those that think it is easy.
Yes, even a single speeding conviction is the kiss of death to a driving career. It's certainly not like used to be 20 years ago where you could just pay the fine and not worry about it too much. Now its on your file for all to see for life.
Stupid is as stupid does.
I worked for the Feds and spent a lot of time out on the ramp around airplanes. Being caught without your parking brake on was an automatic 3-day suspension, a 2nd offense was a two-week suspension, a 3rd offense was automatic dismissal, No appeal.
We had an employee not set his parking brake and the truck rolled into a fully loaded 747 due to high winds. The plane had to have all the passengers and luggage and cargo taken off and it was towed to the hanger. Another plane had to be brought in and the cost just went up from there. Missed connections and so on. The bill to the feds was in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The guy had been at the job 21 years. He got little sympathy from the rest of us as his failure to follow simple safety rules put us all in danger. Like I said stupid is as stupid does.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
The conductor certification program (49 CFR 242) calls for a state driver's license abstract. The reg contains the following language:
(n) A railroad shall only consider information concerning the following types of motor vehicle incidents: (1) A conviction for, or completed state action to cancel, revoke, suspend, or deny a motor vehicle drivers license for, operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of or impaired by alcohol or acontrolled substance; or (2) A conviction for, or completed state action to cancel, revoke, suspend, or deny a motor vehicle driver's license for, refusal to undergo such testing as is required by State or foreign law when a law enforcement official seeks to determine whether a person is operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance.
(1) A conviction for, or completed state action to cancel, revoke, suspend, or deny a motor vehicle drivers license for, operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of or impaired by alcohol or acontrolled substance; or
(2) A conviction for, or completed state action to cancel, revoke, suspend, or deny a motor vehicle driver's license for, refusal to undergo such testing as is required by State or foreign law when a law enforcement official seeks to determine whether a person is operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance.
Under 49 CFR 240, engineers must not only request a state driver's abstract, but must also query the National Driver's Registry. The considerations are the same as under the conductor's program:
(b) When evaluating a person's motor vehicle driving record, a railroad shall not consider information concerning motor vehicle driving incidents that occurred more than 36 months before the month in which the railroad is making its certification decision and shall only consider information concerning the following types of motor vehicle incidents: (1) A conviction for, or completed state action to cancel, revoke, suspend, or deny a motor vehicle drivers license for, operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of or impaired by alcohol or a controlled substance; (2) A conviction for, or completed state action to cancel, revoke, suspend, or deny a motor vehicle driver's license for, refusal to undergo such testing as is required by State law when a law enforcement official seeks to determine whether a person is operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance.
(1) A conviction for, or completed state action to cancel, revoke, suspend, or deny a motor vehicle drivers license for, operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of or impaired by alcohol or a controlled substance;
(2) A conviction for, or completed state action to cancel, revoke, suspend, or deny a motor vehicle driver's license for, refusal to undergo such testing as is required by State law when a law enforcement official seeks to determine whether a person is operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance.
I pulled the quotes from the Cornell Law Library site, which is where the definition hot-links will take you.
Since we run on rails connected to the national system, all of our conductors and engineers much adhere to the national standards.
As MC notes, if you catch a hit here, you'll be referred to the EAP. If you don't want to play, you'll be shown the door.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
Larry, I'm glad to know that you are behaving.
I hope to see you Sunday week.
Johnny
Deggesty Larry, I'm glad to know that you are behaving. I hope to see you Sunday week.
I plan to be there.
It's in the GCOR. Rule 1.6.1 requires notifying the proper officer after a conviction of DUI. Rule 1.6.2 requires notification after conviction of a felony. Go the link below and then to the rules indicated.
http://www.fwwr.net/assets/gcor-effective-2015-04-01.pdf
Once you've looked over the rule book, here is a link to a quiz.
https://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=iais-gcor-study-quiztransportation-employees
Jeff
Shadow the Cats owner Mookie he means Employee Assistance Programs the polite way to say Drug rehab programs in office speak. You think losing your license is bad if your a railroader try this side of the fence if you want fun. Not only can and will a state take away your license from a CDL holder for about anything then they make it even worse. States will suspend a CDL for back child support when the driver is trying to pay it off yet then scream at him when he can't make the support payments after his CDL was suspended. Hello you took his job from him anyone think it out first. Or their dracoinian DUI rules for CDL holders .04 bac and your considered impared even in a POV according to the latest regs we were handed. Then we have the points they assign to tickets that mean nothing to safety when a seatbelt cost more towards a suspension than a DUI something is messed up. So yeah having to maintain a license as part of a career is one heck of an occupational hazard that a lot of people across this nation do. I feel so sorry for those that think it is easy.
You think that is tight try .02 if your behind the wheel of a CMV. It has happened where literally a driver sick out on the road bought NyQuil felt better the cop saw the bottle of it on the floor in a traffic stop and the driver got popped for a DUI. It happened to a friend of my husband not that long ago the only thing in the truck with any ethonal in the truck was the NyQuil bottle. It is that tight for the CDL holder.
Shadow the Cats ownerYou think that is tight try .02 if your behind the wheel of a CMV.
My company considers anything higher than .00 as a violtaion. So yeah...
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.
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