DUI "Less Safe" career advice?
04-05-2016, 08:03 AM
#1
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Joined APC: Apr 2016
Posts: 5
DUI "Less Safe" career advice?
Hey guys, I've been doing some thorough reading on this site about the topic of DUI and career opportunities thereafter in this industry, but almost every post has been 3 years or older.
I have recently been convicted of a DUI "less safe" alcohol because my state is one of "zero tolerance". I had a BAC of .067 as noted by the toxicology report of my blood. I refused the hand held breathalyzer roadside. Then upon being read my rights I was not very understanding of what was being read, asked the officer to read it again, and he then treated my response as a "non-verbal" refusal and a warrant for my blood followed. I had an attorney, and as a result I am driving on a permit for 4 months until my license will be fully reinstated. I also have some community service and probation for 12 months. I was not drunk by the "per se" limit of .08, but again living in a "zero tolerance" state I will have a DUI "Less Safe" alcohol on my record.
I was not under the influence, but I have undoubtedly learned that it is absolutely not worth the risk of driving even after only having 2-3 drinks. I have not even thought about having a single drink and driving since the incident, which was almost a year ago. It's just not worth it.
I am 24 years old. I started college at a military academy, in hopes to become a pilot, but I did not fit the lifestyle and I left. I have recently graduated from a small university and have been going back and forth on whether to assume a loan to put myself through flight school or not.
I was 23 when it happened. I have learned from mistakes, in addition to graduating college and losing my mother unexpectedly due to illness. Needless to say, I have matured more than I expected to in this time frame.
For those more knowleadgable on this subject and willing to help a young man who wants to have a good career serving others, would it be worth it to put myself through flight school?
I am fully aware of the thousands of mandatory retirements in the coming years and it is primarily the reason I have maintained my hopes. So will regional airlines later see, and understand I have learned from mistakes? Further down the road would legacy airlines such as Delta, see that it was just an immature action of youth? Given I keep my record spotless here on out, which are my full intentions.
I did not know of anyone else to ask about this situation, so any advice will be much appreciated it.
Thank you all in advance.
I have recently been convicted of a DUI "less safe" alcohol because my state is one of "zero tolerance". I had a BAC of .067 as noted by the toxicology report of my blood. I refused the hand held breathalyzer roadside. Then upon being read my rights I was not very understanding of what was being read, asked the officer to read it again, and he then treated my response as a "non-verbal" refusal and a warrant for my blood followed. I had an attorney, and as a result I am driving on a permit for 4 months until my license will be fully reinstated. I also have some community service and probation for 12 months. I was not drunk by the "per se" limit of .08, but again living in a "zero tolerance" state I will have a DUI "Less Safe" alcohol on my record.
I was not under the influence, but I have undoubtedly learned that it is absolutely not worth the risk of driving even after only having 2-3 drinks. I have not even thought about having a single drink and driving since the incident, which was almost a year ago. It's just not worth it.
I am 24 years old. I started college at a military academy, in hopes to become a pilot, but I did not fit the lifestyle and I left. I have recently graduated from a small university and have been going back and forth on whether to assume a loan to put myself through flight school or not.
I was 23 when it happened. I have learned from mistakes, in addition to graduating college and losing my mother unexpectedly due to illness. Needless to say, I have matured more than I expected to in this time frame.
For those more knowleadgable on this subject and willing to help a young man who wants to have a good career serving others, would it be worth it to put myself through flight school?
I am fully aware of the thousands of mandatory retirements in the coming years and it is primarily the reason I have maintained my hopes. So will regional airlines later see, and understand I have learned from mistakes? Further down the road would legacy airlines such as Delta, see that it was just an immature action of youth? Given I keep my record spotless here on out, which are my full intentions.
I did not know of anyone else to ask about this situation, so any advice will be much appreciated it.
Thank you all in advance.
04-05-2016, 08:36 AM
#4
Line Holder
Joined APC: Jan 2016
Position: Da Bus
Posts: 35
I think that you can absolutely have a career in aviation as long as you are honest about your mistake and take full responsibility for the mistake. Thankfully it happened when you are young and after a few years of clean living along with some good school/career progression you should be good to go, if the current hiring environment continues.
As far as getting an FAA medical is concerned, as long as you report it you should have no trouble there either. They may ask you to be evaluated for possible substance abuse by a psychologist but with that low of a BAC I doubt it.
The biggest things I have found people are looking for are that you be COMPLETELY up front and honest about the event, take FULL responsibility for the event and that you LEARNED from the event. DO NOT SAY "I WAS NOT IMPAIRED", you were impaired to a certain extent that was illegal in your state.
If you keep a clean record and explain the incident the right way you should have no trouble with the FAA or employers. One area that might cause an issue is Canada. Canada has very strict rules about foreigners entering the country with any kind of alcohol related driving offenses. I would check with the Canadian Border Service website for further information.
Source of Information: I was in similar shoes at one point and made it out just fine.
As far as getting an FAA medical is concerned, as long as you report it you should have no trouble there either. They may ask you to be evaluated for possible substance abuse by a psychologist but with that low of a BAC I doubt it.
The biggest things I have found people are looking for are that you be COMPLETELY up front and honest about the event, take FULL responsibility for the event and that you LEARNED from the event. DO NOT SAY "I WAS NOT IMPAIRED", you were impaired to a certain extent that was illegal in your state.
If you keep a clean record and explain the incident the right way you should have no trouble with the FAA or employers. One area that might cause an issue is Canada. Canada has very strict rules about foreigners entering the country with any kind of alcohol related driving offenses. I would check with the Canadian Border Service website for further information.
Source of Information: I was in similar shoes at one point and made it out just fine.
04-05-2016, 09:01 AM
#5
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Thread Starter
Joined APC: Apr 2016
Posts: 5
Originally Posted by Load 15
I think that you can absolutely have a career in aviation as long as you are honest about your mistake and take full responsibility for the mistake. Thankfully it happened when you are young and after a few years of clean living along with some good school/career progression you should be good to go, if the current hiring environment continues.
As far as getting an FAA medical is concerned, as long as you report it you should have no trouble there either. They may ask you to be evaluated for possible substance abuse by a psychologist but with that low of a BAC I doubt it.
The biggest things I have found people are looking for are that you be COMPLETELY up front and honest about the event, take FULL responsibility for the event and that you LEARNED from the event. DO NOT SAY "I WAS NOT IMPAIRED", you were impaired to a certain extent that was illegal in your state.
If you keep a clean record and explain the incident the right way you should have no trouble with the FAA or employers. One area that might cause an issue is Canada. Canada has very strict rules about foreigners entering the country with any kind of alcohol related driving offenses. I would check with the Canadian Border Service website for further information.
Source of Information: I was in similar shoes at one point and made it out just fine.
As far as getting an FAA medical is concerned, as long as you report it you should have no trouble there either. They may ask you to be evaluated for possible substance abuse by a psychologist but with that low of a BAC I doubt it.
The biggest things I have found people are looking for are that you be COMPLETELY up front and honest about the event, take FULL responsibility for the event and that you LEARNED from the event. DO NOT SAY "I WAS NOT IMPAIRED", you were impaired to a certain extent that was illegal in your state.
If you keep a clean record and explain the incident the right way you should have no trouble with the FAA or employers. One area that might cause an issue is Canada. Canada has very strict rules about foreigners entering the country with any kind of alcohol related driving offenses. I would check with the Canadian Border Service website for further information.
Source of Information: I was in similar shoes at one point and made it out just fine.
04-05-2016, 09:17 AM
#6
Disinterested Third Party
Joined APC: Jun 2012
Posts: 6,026
Originally Posted by FreshNoodles
I was not under the influence, ...blah, blah, blah
.67 BAC? You were under the influence.
As long as you remain making excuses and in denial, the rest is irrelevant.
04-05-2016, 10:15 AM
#7
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Joined APC: Apr 2016
Posts: 5
Originally Posted by JohnBurke
Yes, you were.
.67 BAC? You were under the influence.
As long as you remain making excuses and in denial, the rest is irrelevant.
.67 BAC? You were under the influence.
As long as you remain making excuses and in denial, the rest is irrelevant.
I admitted to making the mistake and also stated I have no intentions of doing so again. It was a .067, not a .67. I'm not making excuses. I realize I was wrong. I shouldn't have said that. It seems as though I'm denying the incident, but that is not the case, or else I would not be here asking for advice.
So I'm sorry sir, but that was not helpful in the least bit. Do you have anything that might actually be helpful for a person in my situation?
If not, I understand. I've seen some of your negative posts on other threads and could care less to see what else you have to say.
Thanks.
04-05-2016, 11:25 AM
#9
On Reserve
Joined APC: Jan 2016
Posts: 18
Originally Posted by FreshNoodles
M
I admitted to making the mistake and also stated I have no intentions of doing so again. It was a .067, not a .67. I'm not making excuses. I realize I was wrong. I shouldn't have said that. It seems as though I'm denying the incident, but that is not the case, or else I would not be here asking for advice.
So I'm sorry sir, but that was not helpful in the least bit. Do you have anything that might actually be helpful for a person in my situation?
If not, I understand. I've seen some of your negative posts on other threads and could care less to see what else you have to say.
Thanks.
I admitted to making the mistake and also stated I have no intentions of doing so again. It was a .067, not a .67. I'm not making excuses. I realize I was wrong. I shouldn't have said that. It seems as though I'm denying the incident, but that is not the case, or else I would not be here asking for advice.
So I'm sorry sir, but that was not helpful in the least bit. Do you have anything that might actually be helpful for a person in my situation?
If not, I understand. I've seen some of your negative posts on other threads and could care less to see what else you have to say.
Thanks.
04-05-2016, 11:45 AM
#10
Disinterested Third Party
Joined APC: Jun 2012
Posts: 6,026
Originally Posted by FreshNoodles
M
I admitted to making the mistake and also stated I have no intentions of doing so again. It was a .067, not a .67. I'm not making excuses. I realize I was wrong. I shouldn't have said that. It seems as though I'm denying the incident, but that is not the case, or else I would not be here asking for advice.
So I'm sorry sir, but that was not helpful in the least bit. Do you have anything that might actually be helpful for a person in my situation?
If not, I understand. I've seen some of your negative posts on other threads and could care less to see what else you have to say.
Thanks.
I admitted to making the mistake and also stated I have no intentions of doing so again. It was a .067, not a .67. I'm not making excuses. I realize I was wrong. I shouldn't have said that. It seems as though I'm denying the incident, but that is not the case, or else I would not be here asking for advice.
So I'm sorry sir, but that was not helpful in the least bit. Do you have anything that might actually be helpful for a person in my situation?
If not, I understand. I've seen some of your negative posts on other threads and could care less to see what else you have to say.
Thanks.
.67, .067; still impaired. That you didn't meet the driving threshold for your local jurisdiction is really irrelevant. If you were drinking and driving, you were impaired, especially with a .067 BAC.
You're the one that asked if regionals will see that you've learned from your mistakes. When you come here to post and stay in your initial statement on the subject that you were .067 but weren't impaired, it's very clear that that you haven't learned. Not if you can deny your impairment.
When it's clear that you're still making excuses and denying what occurred (stating that you weren't impaired is both), there's no point discussing whether a regional will see that you've learned and moved on.
Obviously you have not.
As for chalking this up to your lessons of your youth: you're 24 years old. This was less than a year ago. Your youth? Back when you were a kid, but have since grown into a wise and mature adult (that denies impairment)? It's not showing. Work on that.
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