How to Resolve Indefinite Suspension in Pennsylvania

**scoot412** · 06-12-2012, 08:26 PM

My question involves a driver's license issued by the State of: Pennsylvania

I have created quite a problem for myself with my Pennsylvania Drivers License. I have a series of citations from the past few years (2006-2009) which I have failed to deal with. To summarize, this is what is showing on my PA drivers record:

-VIOLATION DATE: FEB 2007
VIOLATION: VEHICLE CODE: 1533A
DESCRIPTION: FAILURE TO RESPOND
UNDERLYING OFFENSE: 1543 , DRIVING WHILE SUSP/REVOKE
COMM VEHICLE: NO HAZMAT: NO CDL HOLDER: NO
ACTION: SUSPENSION EFFECTIVE APR 2007

-VIOLATION DATE: SEP 2006
VIOLATION: VEHICLE CODE: 1533A
DESCRIPTION: FAILURE TO RESPOND
UNDERLYING OFFENSE: 3111 , TRAFFIC-CNTROL VIOL
ACTION: SUSPENSION EFFECTIVE APR 2007

-VIOLATION DATE: FEB 2007
VIOLATION: VEHICLE CODE: 1533A
DESCRIPTION: FAILURE TO RESPOND
COMM VEHICLE: NO HAZMAT: NO CDL HOLDER: NO
ACTION: SUSPENSION EFFECTIVE APR 2007

-VIOLATION DATE: FEB 2007
VIOLATION: VEHICLE CODE: 1543A
DESCRIPTION: DRIVING WHILE SUSP/REVOKE
COMM VEHICLE: NO HAZMAT: NO CDL HOLDER: NO
CONVICTION DATE: JUL 2007
ACTION: SUSPENSION FOR 1 YEAR(S) EFFECTIVE AUG 08 2007

-VIOLATION DATE: FEB 2007
VIOLATION: VEHICLE CODE: 1533D
DESCRIPTION: FAIL TO RESPOND
UNDERLYING OFFENSE: 1543 , DRIVING WHILE SUSP/REVOKE

-VIOLATION DATE: MAR 2008
VIOLATION: VEHICLE CODE: 1533A
DESCRIPTION: FAILURE TO RESPOND
UNDERLYING OFFENSE: 1543 , DRIVING WHILE SUSP/REVOKE
ACTION: SUSPENSION EFFECTIVE NOV 2008

-VIOLATION DATE: DEC 2009
VIOLATION: VEHICLE CODE: 1533A
DESCRIPTION: FAILURE TO RESPOND
UNDERLYING OFFENSE: 1301 , EXPIRED REG OR DOC
ACTION: SUSPENSION EFFECTIVE FEB 2010

-VIOLATION DATE: DEC 2009
VIOLATION: VEHICLE CODE: 1533A
DESCRIPTION: FAILURE TO RESPOND
UNDERLYING OFFENSE: 1543 , DRIVING WHILE SUSP/REVOKE
COMM VEHICLE: NO HAZMAT: NO CDL HOLDER: NO
ACTION: SUSPENSION EFFECTIVE FEB 2010

My Drivers Record states "indefinite suspension," so I can't get a date for when I might be eligible to be licensed again.

I'm unsure why the incident from February 2006 is repeated so many times on the report. At some point ('06 or '07) another driver rear-ended me, a police officer was nearby and stopped. That's when I found out that my license was suspended. Beyond that, I was simply irresponsible and drove while my license was suspended.

I've never responded to any of these citations. I know that I was extremely irresponsible but would now like to get all of this resolved. I'm just not sure where to start. I know that my failure to respond is basically the same as a guilty plea. I'm just wondering where to begin and how to fix this.

I'm hoping that I'll be eligible to restore my driving privileges. On the bright side, I did surrender my license to the DMV in May 2010 so, I should already have credit for 2+ years on the suspensions.

Any ideas on how where to start to resolve these issues? Also, how much longer will my license be suspended?
Thank you for your time.

**PTPD22** · 06-13-2012, 05:05 AM

Wow. That's quite a record. Here in WA, you would already have a lot of this cleared up because you would have been hauled to jail by now.

Weeellll, the first thing you need to do is go to the court(s) where all those FTAs and violations are from and get final adjudication on ALL of them. Until you do that, you aint getting your license back. I'm not familiar with laws and procedure in PA, but I'm betting that your "credit for 2+ years on the suspensions" is a pipe dream. I'd wager that the clock on the suspensions doesn't start ticking until AFTER the court(s) notify the department of licensing that all your cases are finalized.

**vincedia** · 06-14-2012, 08:29 AM

Well first of all...that record is missing a lot of information. From what I can see there is nothing "bad" about the record. But the entire record, plus additional information will be needed to put together a proper game plan.

You can forget all the vehicle code 1533 violations because they are for failure to respond. Those can be removed, and put back on your driving record many times. They may be having no effect on your license today. Sadly Pennsylvania does not give you enough information in just one record to tell what is going on, or how to take care of any issues. You will need to get a Restoration Requirements Letter from PennDOT. You can do that for free from the PennDOT website here. https://www.dot4.state.pa.us - look for driver services and find the shopping cart to add the RR letter.

You did get one driving under suspension according to the record above, and were suspended for one year. If you surrendered your license in 2010, then credit for the term suspensions you earned will begin then...but credit is a major issue here in PA. So you will want to double check your credit date. This will be noted at the bottom of your driving record. You will see a line that starts with Driver's License Return or Affidavit received, then a date. That date is the credit start date.

I would suggest you NOT contact any of those courts till you know what violations you are facing. Then once you are sure of the status and penalty you need to decide how best to handle the tickets. Pennsylvania has a strange statute of limitations law, so some of the older tickets may be tossed if done properly, but we have seen judges who will not dismiss without a hearing. A lot of the time we have the most success with older tickets by talking to the police officer first, if he/she is still around. It can get very complicated, so I suggest you get professional help. One wrong move can result in a handful of years of suspension being added to your record.

Some of the older tickets may have also been given guilty dispositions even if you never responded. Each county in the state has different policy on how they handle ignored traffic tickets. If you were already found guilty by the court, then you get no statute and will have to resolve the outstanding fines.

Good luck,
Vince

**scoot412** · 06-14-2012, 06:18 PM

Hi Vince,
Thank you for taking the time to provide such a thorough response.
The information I posted was taken verbatim from my PA Ten Year Driver Record.
I also have a Restoration Letter from the state. It lists five different entries (from four separate courts/incidents) that say:
"INDEFINITE SUSPENSION -You did not respond to a traffic citation (B65601012) in the following court: "
My Driver Record does confirm that I surrendered my license on 5/19/2010.

I guess what I'm wondering is how to proceed now. I'm assuming that my failures to respond resulted in guilty pleas. At this point, I'd be fine with paying the fines on the ignored citations and putting this behind me. I just don't want to dig myself an even bigger hole by doing that.

How can find out the status and penalties without contacting the courts directly?

I'm in Allegheny County.
Thank you

**vincedia** · 06-14-2012, 06:33 PM

I'm sorry if I was not clear earlier. (and after re-reading the post it was not) You should contact the courts to get information, but do not make a plea (guilty or not) till you know how it will effect your current status.

If the only thing on your RR letter is indefinite suspension (no term suspensions listed), then contacting each court to see if there is a disposition on the ticket is the right place to start. If they all have dispositions, then you have already been found or pled guilty and it is just money the court needs. (or they will tell you if something else is needed). I wrote a little more in-depth article about how to handle a indefinite suspension listed on a Restoration Requirements Letter if you would like more info from a site I own.

If any the citations are from Pittsburgh Traffic Court (Allegheny County) you will find that calling is a waste of time, you will want to go in person. You do need to be careful because with old tickets there may be warrants and they may arrest you if you appear. In that case you may want to consider hiring an attorney to assist you.

If there are term suspensions on that restoration letter...that changes everything and you will need professional help to reduce that suspension time or wait out whatever time is left.

Good luck!
Vince