Hey everyone,
I've heard from pilots in the past that you want to maintain a flawless driving record in order to be hired quickly by the airlines and that even a speeding ticket can be a disadvantage. I'm 16 years old and was recently in an accident on a day when it was pouring and my car spun out and knocked up a mirror of another car when it lost control. So the police show up 5 minutes later and give me a speeding ticket for going too fast for the conditions. I'm obviously protesting this ticket in an attempt to get it off my record. I'm curious how badly this will disadvantage me for my future. I will now have one insurance claim on my record placed by that volvo driver for their mirror and hopefully the judge will take that speeding ticket off since the accident really was not related to speeding at all. So how will this effect me in the future and what can I do?

Elliott,

This should not affect your aspirations of being an airline pilot. Keep your nose clean, and stay in school. You will do fine.

What Fedup said : Stay in school!

Fedupbusdriver, so is it not true that airlines do a deep background check upon hiring and really consider your past driving records? Also would that include insurance claims or just the "criminal" or civil record including tickets...? Thanks for the advice and no worries, I'll stay in school MHMama ;-). I'd just heard from multiple people to keep a clean driving record and then this happened...

They are OK with a "normal" driving record, which can include the occasional speeding ticket or accident. This will not affect you unless you do it every 3 months.

They are usually not OK with lots of recent tickets, tickets that involve reckless driving, or DUI/DWI (kiss of death).

As far as the background check, don't worry about it. Just be honest...they will ask for your DMV, misdemeanor, and felony histories for certain time periods. Just tell the truth for those time periods, then it doesn't matter what they find or don't find on the background thing.

DUI's and your name on the NDR is really all they care about. (your name will only be on the NDR if you've had a suspension or revocation of your DL)

Elliott,
They speak the truth. Everyone gets a speeding ticket every now and then. Especially when they are 16 years old. Reckless driving and DUI are the show stoppers. When it comes time to interview, always be truthful, and answer only what they ask. If they ask you to list all incidents in the past five or seven years, do not tell them about something that happened before that, but do tell them about any which happened during the period in question. Think before you act, and do not ever drink and drive. You will be fine.

First of all take responsibility for the accident. "It" didn't lose control you did. With that said, stay in school and don't make bad decisions such as those mentioned, DUI, Reckless Driving, ect…. I will repeat what others have said because it is really, really important,…Don't drink and drive, ever! The airlines all know that most pilots are going to have the occasional speeding ticket, just don't make it to often. If a past driving infraction does come up on the interview, be a man and accept responsibility for it. Otherwise the interviewer will get an impression that you may not want. Best of luck, Fly Safe!

I would say that a DUI/DWI is a "showstopper"; for the majors. Reckless driving on the other hand is not a good thing to have on your record,however, it is not a "showstopper" for the majors. The airlines also look at when the infractions happend. If a person recieves a reckless driving ticket BEFORE they have any flight ratings and they are somewhat young; majors would still hire you. I have flown with a couple pilots at CAL who have recieved reckless driving tickets. One of the guys got a reckless driving ticket on a snowmobile, I dont know if that makes a difference. I do not know if being on a snowmobile makes any difference in comparison to an automobile. Personally, I think it does. The other gentlemen that has had a reckless driving ticket was a reduced penalty from a DUI. I have never flown with anyone that has been convicted for a DUI. A few speeding tickets is not going kill a person chances for making it to a major or any airline for that matter. Just do not make a habit for getting them. keep your nose clean and you have nothing to worry about.