ABC News recently reported on a man who was sentenced to a 60-day prison term after receiving his 38th citation for driving under suspension.
Pennsylvania law says you may be sentenced to a prison term if you are convicted of a second or subsequent violation of the following: driving while your operating privilege is suspended or revoked, racing on the highway, fleeing or attempting to evade a police officer, driving without lights to avoid identification or arrest, false reports, and driving without a license. See Title 75, Section 6503 for more detailed information.
For a driving under suspension, DUI related, you are required to serve a 60-90 day prison sentence. The law also imposes a mandatory 30 days to 6 months imprisonment for the conviction of a sixth or subsequent driving under suspension.
You can avoid subsequent driving under suspensions by making sure to wait the appropriate amount of time before getting back behind the wheel, and then doing what is required of you to reinstate your license. This second part is particularly important, because if you do not take the necessary steps and actually have your license reinstated, you are still considered to be driving on a suspended license, even if the appropriate amount of time has passed. This means that if you are pulled over again, you will likely receive another driving under suspension.
Before sending in a guilty plea with your citation and appropriate fines and costs, it would be wise to consult an attorney who can assess your record and advise you about possible consequences down the road. One driving under suspension is not so bad, but if you’re caught doing it again, you may be seeing the inside of a jail cell. An experienced attorney can find ways to fight your traffic ticket or negotiate a lesser charge that does not include a jail sentence.