Driving Record
 

Hi, I was hired by a large PT 135 operator and just A week before I was to go to class I found out my drivers lic. was going to be suspended for to many points in 12 months. In an effort to be honest I let the CP know the situation and they retracted their employment offer. My question is as far as 121 or 135 is my career now a smoking hole? The suspension is only for thirty days, I have no DUI's and my FAA record is clean. I got a late start and I am 50. Should I give up or just explain and keep trying?
Thanks

Weeeell...

The real problem here is not that you have a bad driving record, the problem is that you are 50 years old with a bad driving record.

This kind of situation is common with young kids, and my advice to them would be to ease off the gas and go flight-instruct for 2-3 years. If they keep their record clean and re-apply most employers would consider that evidence of having matured.

Unfortunately, the conventional wisdom is that if you haven't learned by age 30, you never will. Even if you keep your nose clean, an employer might be more concerned that you are simply "covering up" who you really are since it's unlikely that you made a big change at your age.

You might try giving it a couple of years and see what happens, but I would guess that you will be looking at bottom-feeder job opportunities only. Unfortunately, even if you get a job you will probably be stuck in the dregs of aviation for years, if not forever.

The best path for you might be networking in general aviation...if you can find a rich guy who owns a jet and likes you, he might not care about your driving record. Unfortunately his insurance company probably will, so he will likely be looking at higher premiums...hopefully he likes you a lot.

I would definately dust off your previous career at this point. I' pretty certain that you will need to get your DL back before applying to any 135/121 operations. Also, ask around some more and get some other opinions...this is too important to just take my word for it.

Although it probably hurts, rickair is probably more on, than he is off.

Poor driving records are one thing for 18-21 year olds, however for somebody that's older, it definitely raises flags (from a responsibility standpoint). Especially when the industry is slowing down and there is a surplus of qualified candidates.

That said, you still need to show that you are making positive effort to change. Whether or not an employer "buys" the fact you are doing so is another thing, but without any effort you will never know.

First and foremost, get enrolled in a safe driving course. DO IT NOW. Your car insurance agent should be able to help you out. In addition, you might make a few calls to the department of motor vehicles and ask if your state has a "forgiveness" program. Here in VA if you take a state sponsored driving course, many counties will "forgive" penalties for your most recent ticket, and instead of a conviction you end us still paying fees, but the incident is removed from your record (no points). That said, I don't think that a suspension can be overturned through this program. Either way, you are being proactive about correcting your record.

Finally, take a deep look at why you are getting so many violations. Do you own a car that might be too tempting to drive fast? (Maybe it's time to get rid of the sports car and get a luxury sedan). Do you use cruise control? Do you know the laws of the road?

Remember- if you want to fly professionally, you need to show that you have the responsibility (on and off the job) to handle a multi-million dollar piece of equipment (plus the lives of your passengers and the associated liability).

Eh, what are the points that you are talking about?

12 points in 12 months actually 3 tickets for speeding

Ouch!!! How fast exaclty were you over the limit and in which state?

Damn, sounds like you could use a police scanner or something like that

Well the part that really gets me is these tickets were all almost a year ago. I thought it was going to be ok. I have been very careful since and those were all trying to get home after late arrivials with early morning departures. No real excuse I know. The part that really hurts one of the tickets were in GA and that cost me $800.00

Both Josh and Rickair are solid in their responses...as much as it hurts. The fact is you should know better and that makes an interviewer question your judgment.

It now boils down to how you present yourself and this "black mark" next time. You are going to have to be extra humble, take more than your fair share of responsibility and learned a whole heck of a lot. It sounds so trivial, but you should be a professional at this stage of the ball game, both because of your age and the ratings you hold.

so, grab a big piece of humble pie and explain the facts of what happened to the next employer. And whatever you do...don't talk about the most recent employer retracting their job offer! It will create even more question marks.

Good luck!

Thanks for your input. I am always very honest when it come to the interview process and I always take full responsibility for this issue. I let a compressed time schedule cloud my judgement and will never let that happen again.