I really messed up, almost two years ago I got a DUI while at a gas station buying cigarettes, I wasn't in my car, keys weren't in the ignition, but when you take chances things are bound to happen, while I was in the store buying smokes some-one else was backing into my bumper! Some good samaritan took it upon himself to call the cops, long story short, cop smelled beer on my breath asked if I had driven my car to the store and of course I said yes, I blew a .08 on the third try, lost my job, and am about to lose my house, all companies say it has to be at least 3 yrs. before I can work again, I don't have another year, trucking is all I want to do and the only thing that will pay my bills as a single woman, I'm at my wits end and don't know what to do, I'm sorry I messed up, since then I quit smoking and never drink. I was hoping to find an owner operator that would hire me but I don't know how this thing works yet, I have more than 20yrs. experience OTR and no accidents or tickets other than the DUI, if anyone can help me, I would be grateful. My E-mail is... [email protected]

Sorry to hear this. It is a damned tough economy to be in that situation.

I am sorry to hear about the DUI. I wish that I had better news for you. Most of us who run our own authority are somewhat limited as to whom we can hire due to insurance companies. They will normally pull a 3 year MVR so anything that is on your driving record will affect your ability to be covered. If I were you I would check with some construction companies and dump truck owners to see if they could hire you. I would also see if there are any logging operations around. Sometimes these two segments will be a little more liberal in their hiring policies. Check with your local state employment office. They may have other companies that might overlook the DUI. It is unfortunate that one slip or mistake can so dramatically affect one's life. Good luck.

+1.

My insurance is $7000/yr. Another one of my drivers with 2 recent accident claims had his insurance canceled by the $7000 company and only Markell would insure him.......$17,000. An employer would have to be pretty desperate to hire someone in that situation....but it does happen. Also had an insurance company refuse to cover a guy because he was laid off from am construction company (seasonal) and he was uninsured for 6 months.

I don't know how a 2 yr old DUI affects rates but maybe you can approach a smaller company and offer to pay the extra insurance costs out of your own pocket by having them reduce your pay rate. Say they were going to pay $45K...maybe they pay you $35k?