DUI and the FAA

[acarpe3448]

Perhaps a hipshot reply on my part. Yes, I know that the association has a number of sucessful appraoches to this serious matter and I congratulate you if it has been a part of your recovery process.
My comments were more in line with the traffic stop and subsequent refusal to take a FST or a brethalyser test. I may be wrong but I don't think ALPA, APA, step up to defend what in many states is criminal conduct??

That is true!

 

[WMUSIGPI]

I'd say a part... maybe a small part, but... of the problem is the nearly nonexistent public transportation in most of the country.
It doesn't help that in the city I used to live in, there was a campaign to get everyone to walk to the bars in the summer so they wouldn't drive drunk. What did the cops do? Started ticketing everyone for public drunkeness for walking home from the bar..... so guess what everyone started doing again. It wasn't avoiding the bars.

 

[Oh-ryan]

my advice to your friend:

Do nothing and allow the FAA to take away his medical/license. To do anything else is an act of selfishness to the highest degree. He's a menace to everything in the sky (yes, birds too).

 

[Spooky 2]

Curious as to what the law enforcement folks are telling him. I assume he has a court date for some sort of plea? How about keeping this thread open and letting us know how things work out. Don't expect any miracles but you never know. I don't suppose you would like to tell us what state this happened in?

 

[viking737]

I will let you know what happens.
He has a good lawyer who told him to worry about the DMV when that comes in a few months,
right now the FAA is his main concern.
Thanks to all that came up with serious replies. For those with flippant remarks, please do everybody a favor and just stay off this thread.

 

[Spooky 2]

I will let you know what happens.
He has a good lawyer who told him to worry about the DMV when that comes in a few months,
right now the FAA is his main concern.
Thanks to all that came up with serious replies. For those with flippant remarks, please do everybody a favor and just stay off this thread.

Check of course and follow the attorney's advise, but I don't think the 60 window starts until after a conviction??

 

[AV80R]

Bob, unfortunately PCL is correct - alcoholism has been documented as a disease. It's an addiction and that's why there are numerous support groups and programs to get help and break that addiction.

I know it is classified as a disease but is it possible that in today’s PC environment pretty much everything gets classified as a disease? I believe the latest "disease" is computer game addiction? I mean where does it stop?

I definitely see why Bob is upset and I agree with him. At the very least, anyone who's been convicted of hurting/killing someone in a dui incident should never/ever be allowed to drive again.

 

[Way2Broke]

Check of course and follow the attorney's advise, but I don't think the 60 window starts until after a conviction??

Sorry if I was confusing in my post covering this. Anytime a Motor Vehicle Action (MVA) occurs you have to file a report. A conviction is only one of three things that are considered a Motor Vehicle Action. Most states do a "administrative" suspension when you are charged. That suspension would require a report. If you are convicted that would require a report. If the courts suspend your license that requires a report. Do you see how one DUI could turn into 3 reports?

(1) A conviction after November 29, 1990, for the violation of any Federal or State statute relating to the operation of a motor vehicle while intoxicated by alcohol or a drug, while impaired by alcohol or a drug, or while under the influence of alcohol or a drug;
(2) The cancellation, suspension, or revocation of a license to operate a motor vehicle after November 29, 1990, for a cause related to the operation of a motor vehicle while intoxicated by alcohol or a drug, while impaired by alcohol or a drug, or while under the influence of alcohol or a drug; or
(3) The denial after November 29, 1990, of an application for a license to operate a motor vehicle for a cause related to the operation of a motor vehicle while intoxicated by alcohol or a drug, while impaired by alcohol or a drug, or while under the influence of alcohol or a drug.

 

[414Flyer]

An administrative suspension is an automatic process that starts based on the time of the initial arrest, it does not wait for a conviction to start. Administrative suspensions are very hard to forestall, since unless there is something majorly wrong, its going to happen.

But like others have said, its not hard at all to blow .10 or .08, it is a lot easier than you think.

Dont take the field sobriety test, it only hurt you and its very possible to fail it without a drop of alcohol in your system. Take the breathalyzer at the station, have a lawyer you can call that will come watch it and take an hour to arrive.

 

[Way2Broke]

If your friend works for a carrier that gos to Canada they may find this very interesting.


"Canada regards DUI / DWI as an extremely serious offense. A conviction for Driving Under the Influence (DUI or DWI) will qualify you as a member of the Inadmissible Class. Those non-Canadian citizens with such convictions will not be allowed to enter Canada freely.
The Inadmissible status can be removed, after a period of many years, by applying for a Minister's Approval of Rehabilitation. Although, you can visit Canada before the Inadmissible status is removed. This requires you apply for a Temporary Resident Permit. The Temporary Resident Permit allows you to visit Canada for a single purpose or for a limited period. This process requires completion of forms and paying fees.
Persons may apply for a Temporary Resident Permit, Approval of Rehabilitation, or Permission to Return to Canada either in Canada or at one these Canadian visa offices in the United States."

 

[siucavflight]

your 'friend' is stupid, I would not want him flying me or my family around.

 

[Spooky 2]

your 'friend' is stupid, I would not want him flying me or my family around.

Statements like this do nothing to address the problem drinker. Are you sure have not been drinking yourself?

 

[siucavflight]

Statements like this do nothing to address the problem drinker. Are you sure have not been drinking yourself?

I have been drinking actually, the difference is that I am not driving anywhere!

 

[avbug]

Several issues are at work here. A legal issue is at the heart of the question, but perhaps the real answer shouldn't be the best defense, but the best treatment.

The "friend" has been picked up more than once for making the poor, dangerous, and criminal decision to drive with diminished capacity. For one who is paid to operate aircraft, the judgement exercised in operating a motor vehicle while not fully in control shows a dangerous trend; it speaks to overall judgement.

Alcoholism is definitely a disease; or those who think a disease only involves a living pathogen involving a body, do a little research and eduate yourself. An addiction is a disease. Many mental issues are diseases of the mind, and often of the body, too. Alcoholism is both.

Regardless of what it is, we have a trend. This isn't a mistake made long ago; this is a repeat trend, an makes one ask how many times the "friend" has operated intoxicated and not been caught. There is no excuse, and there is never an excuse. That it holds wide public acceptance is a tragedy of epic proportions, but does not make it excusable.

One who undertakes to fire a rifle down mainstreet on a quiet winter night wouldn't have any public sympathy, but one who undertakes to become intoxicated and operate a motor vehicle weighing thousands of times that of the rifle bullet and posessing the potential to do significantly more damage is given a pass...unacceptable.

Tell your "friend" to seek an attorney and seek help; he needs both. AA isn't for losers; it's for those seeking to gain control again. He needs to wake up and admit he has a problem, and seek to fix it. Alcoholism is never "fixed;" it doesn't go away, nor is one ever "cured." Seeking to fix it is a lifetime effort that requires unending effort and vigiliance, but there's no alternative and no excuse for doing otherwise. Hopefully he or she gets the help needed.

 

[Way2Broke]

AvBug,

I would say some type of evaluation by a doctor would be in order. I don't think that any of us are doctor's which makes none of us capable of diagnosing a disease.