Tag Archives: LICENSES SUSPENSION

If driving privileges are suspended in PA from DUI can I legally drive in PA with a NY license?

Q: I have a NY driver’s license from when I was in the Army. I was wondering if I could drive legally in PA with the NY driver’s license. Also, I got my DUI back in 2014. I have now heard that a warrant is required to take blood from DUI perpetrators. They didn’t have a warrant for my blood, so can I fight it? My license in PA is to be suspended for 18 months. I have completed 14 months out of the 18, is there any way I can get my license back earlier? (Carnegie, PA)

A: If a PA driver’s license suspension is in effect, the notice of suspension will be sent from PennDOT to the NY Department of Motor Vehicles. Most states are signatories to an interstate compact act and have reciprocity with driver’s licensing matters. You can probably call the NY State DMV to be certain. As far as the requirement of police to obtain a search warrant to obtain blood from a hospital, Birchfield v. North Dakota was a 2016 case and therefore does not apply retroactively to 2014. As far as getting your license back early, it is doubtful, but you can file for an Occupational Limited License on the PennDOT website. My question is why in 2017 are you still under suspension? You may want to get a Restoration Requirements letter and your driving record from PennDOT. You may also want to call the Clerk of Courts to see if there is any probation condition you have not fulfilled to make yourself eligible to restore.

Can PennDOT do this?

Q: Did not send in my PA license after a DUI in Maryland. Had no idea it I was required to until I received a letter from PennDOT. Stated today PennDOT has sent numerous letters to my home requesting my license to be sent in. I was living in Baltimore at the time and they had sent the letters to my mother’s house in Pennsylvania that was sold four years prior. In addition to sending the letters to someone else is home my mother had passed away in the meantime. Now PA Is requiring 4 more months of suspension which would make it one year from the incident. In addition to that they are requiring I have installed in ignition device for an additional year. At that time of the incident I was traveling to and from Baltimore Maryland to Pittsburgh Pennsylvania as part of my job responsibilities as a project manager for a construction company with various projects in both states. This coming week I served my one year suspension.

A:  Fighting PennDOT is tough. All the rules are against you. PennDOT will argue that you had a legal duty to change your address with the Post Office and to notify PennDOT of the address change. Obtain your driver’s license and restoration letter from PennDOT-you can call them or go on-line. Review the facts and the documents with an attorney to see if it is worth filing a motion Nunc Pro Tunc (for late appeal) to address any of the issues. If you do have to send your driver’s license in to PennDOT, follow the procedures on their website (with DL Form and restoration fee enclosed) by certified mail, return receipt.