New York and Connecticut are both members of the Drivers License Compact (DLC) so the NYS courts will notify the CT Department of Motor Vehicles of this Driving While Ability Impaired (DWAI) if your friend is convicted. Even if New York did not inform the CT DMV of the offense your friend would need to due to the federal laws surround commercial driver's license (CDL) holders.

The reporting requirements under the CDL program have been in effect since 1988. Commercial drivers must notify their state's DMV of any:

• Out-of-state traffic violation within 30 days of conviction.
• Out-of-state suspension, revocation or cancellation of driving privileges, as well as disqualification or out-of-service actions, within 30 days of the effective date.
• Change of name or address within 10 days. The driver has 30 days to obtain a corrected CDL.

Commercial drivers also must notify their employer of any:

• Traffic violation within 30 days of the date of conviction.
• Suspension, revocation or cancellation of their driving privileges, as well as any disqualification

The CT DMV states that if you hold a Connecticut Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) then an out of state violation will appear on your Connecticut record. So the New York DWAI will be placed on your friend Connecticut driving record and likely cause his license to be suspended.

As your friend should know as a holder of a Commercial Driver's License (CDL) he has stricter standards regarding violations of the law and including being charged with any type of DUI offense such as a DWAI.

The Connecticut State CDL manual should give you information on how this charge will affect your friend's CDL. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) can also give you information. The FMCSA site gives information on the alcohol and drug testing rules for persons with a commercial driver's license.

From what we have read it is federally mandated that certain penalties are handed down to CDL holders who have certain violations on their motor vehicle record (MVR). Commercial driving privileges shall be revoked for a minimum one-year if the CDL holder commits a major traffic offense (MTO), including any of the following violations:

• Refusal to submit to a chemical test while operating any motor vehicle, personal or commercial;
• Conviction for leaving the scene of either a property damage or personal injury accident without reporting, while operating any motor vehicle, personal or commercial;
• Conviction for an alcohol or a driving while impaired by drugs (DWAID) offense while operating any motor vehicle, personal or commercial;
• Conviction for a felony committed involving the use of any motor vehicle, personal or commercial; or
• Conviction for operating a Commercial Motor Vehicle while his or her CDL was revoked, suspended, or canceled for prior violations, or if disqualified from operating a CMV, or conviction for causing a fatality through negligent operation of a CMV, including but not limited to, crimes of vehicular manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide.

Commercial driving privileges will be permanently revoked if the CDL holder commits one of the MTOs listed above and the CDL holder has previously:

• Refused a chemical test while operating any motor vehicle, personal or commercial, or;
• Was convicted for an MTO while operating any motor vehicle, personal or commercial; or,
• Was convicted of leaving the scene of either a property damage or personal injury accident without reporting;
• Been convicted of an alcohol related operating offense;
• Been convicted of committing a felony involving the use of any motor vehicle; or
• Operated a CMV while CDL was revoked, suspended, or canceled for prior violations, or if disqualified from operating a CMV or if convicted for causing a fatality through negligent operation of a CMV, including but not limited to, crimes of vehicular manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide.

Your friend would have to check with the Connecticut DMV to find out if his license is suspended in CT as well as New York do to the NYS DWAI. The CT DMV notes online that if there is a suspension as a result of an arrest for DUI in Connecticut or any other state, the duration of suspension is one year from the effective date of suspension. So likely once Connecticut is aware of the DWAI conviction your friend's CT driver's license will be suspended.