The suspension of a driver’s license as it relates to a DUI is probably one of the biggest collateral consequences of a DUI. It’s not part of the actual penalty per say but it’s the question that everybody wants to know about because they start thinking about their livelihood and getting around and driving their kid to and from soccer practice and the embarrassment of not being able to drive In Pennsylvania if you’re charged with and convinced of a DUI you can have a 12-month license suspension for a first conviction. That suspension can jump up to an 18-month license suspension if it’s a second or subsequent conviction within a 10-year period.

I also should point out and it’s very important that people know that if you refuse breath or blood testing, if you refuse chemical testing whether you win or lose the criminal DUI charge the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation will suspend your license for one year separate and apart from the DUI conviction. And they will run that refusal conviction consecutive to any suspension you may get as a result of a DUI. So even a first offense DUI where you are refusing breath testing you could be facing a two-year license suspension. Now there, of course, are exceptions to that rule, if you can get into the ARD program and other things but you can be facing a two-year license suspension the first time you are convicted depending on the facts.