Ticket mess

[imploded]

Very long, messy story short: I'm at risk of license suspension because I got 3 speeding tickets in a year. I'm new to flying, just in the past year, and I've decided that I'm going full bore for my CFI ratings, and the long charter / regional / major route.

Problem is, some of my friends have pointed out to me that if I do end up with a suspended license, it's all over. No regional or major would pick me up -- and that frightens me. I'm never going to stop flying; but I want to know, frankly, is this a death knell for my hopes?

I have no drinking offenses, nothing like that -- basically, a bad year of getting caught in a couple crappy situations. So....

Thoughts?

Thanks folks.

 

[Blueline]

1. Slow down. No more tickets. See if you can appeal to prevent the suspension. Might be too late for that.

2. Get competitive time/rating-wise. This will be difficult to do these days as the days of 1000hr new hires are gone (not forever, though).

3. Be honest when you fill out the applications. They will find out when they do your NDR background check.

4. Be honest when interview time comes. "It was a long time ago. I was not driving very responsibly, had my license suspended, and learned from that I needed to pay more attention when I was driving. Since then, I have had a spotless driving record." You need to show and prove that you are a responsible person. What did you learn from the experience?

Hope this helps.

BL

 

[troy]

How far back do the background checks go (for speeding tickets, etc.)?

 

[Saabslime]

3 in a year!? It may not necessarily preclude you from getting an airline job but the odds are defenitely stacked against you. What HR is going to see is someone who is reckless and doesn't learn from their mistakes. Tough case to defend during an interview but good luck anyway.

 

[ShawnC]

I believe that they stay for seven years.

My best advice for you is not to speed anywhere but the highway and there stay within a pack or stay within the limit.

But my the time that you would be able to apply for an airline job they would be old news though. So I really wouldn't worry about it.

 

[aero99]

I think that flying actually made me a better driver. You are young in your avaition days.....don't get any more tickets.

You have a bit of a long road to get to regionals or majors with only 100 hours, so keep your driving record clean from now on.

I would be ready for a good explaination for the reason and what you learned from it if it comes up in an interview. Accept the responsibility, admit the mistake and move on.

Fly by the book and drive by the book if you want a career in flying or any profession for that matter.

 

[FlyinBrian]

All good advice

Most of the airlines I submitted required that I submit a 5yr driving history report for any state that I've lived in. Best advice anyone could give you...

Slow the heck down!!!

As a passenger, do you really want a guy at the front who had his drivers license suspended? In addition to thinking about how your tickets are affecting your career, think about what getting three speeding tickets in a year says about what kind of pilot you'd be. I see a pilot who cares little about regs or safety, which can cost your airline big.

 

[flyby]

Driving History

3, 5 or 7 years... doesn't matter. I've been on 2 interviews and both of them asked if I had EVER had a speeding ticket or other moving violation and if so to document it on their app. They were not asking what COULD be found but wanted a history of my driving since I had been licensed. Personally, I don't do well looking people in the eye and lying to them.

If you find yourself far enough down the road where you think they're not going to show up on an app then roll the dice and hope they don't show up. If they do and you didn't disclose them then you're history.

The other posters are right on, disclose it all, be prepared to talk about it and don't get another one.

 

[j41driver]

Most airlines that I've heard about recently are requiring a 10 year driver record. What ever you do, don't lie about it on your application. Even a while after you get hired if they find out somehow, you could get fired immediately.

 

[generaltso]

If these occured recently, I would say you are screwed I would stop pursing the airlines for the time being. But if these occured years ago when you were just a stupid kid, I would say you could try but like others have said it may still be tough.