Suspension of My License from an Accident That Was Not My Fault

[David from Pennsylvania]

Don't worry about the details of the accident for now. Procedurally, you have two entities to deal with. First you have the Court system who has charged you with a traffic offense. The second entity is PennDOT. It helps to understand that those two entities are separate, but take actions by communicating between each other. The Court has received a complaint filed by the officer stating that you committed a traffic offense (causing an accident). If you were convicted of that by the Court (the District Justice) you have 30 days from the date of that conviction to appeal your conviction (which is easier and more common than it sounds). If your conviction is more than 30 days old, the conviction is almost certainly not appealable.

The Court notified PennDOT of your charge/conviction, so PennDOT action has been triggered. So, you have a two front battle.

IF...

- IF you were convicted (or pleaded guilty by sending in your ticket with that stub on the citation) and are within that 30 day period, you need to appeal the ticket in court AND appeal the suspension with PennDOT (making sure to file what is called a supersedeas, which will stall the suspension) within the time period mentioned in the letter. It is reasonable and common to file these even if you pleaded guilty.

- IF you were convicted more than 30 days ago, the suspension will more than likely stand. You may not argue that the underlying ticket was wrong if you failed to appeal the conviction in time. You should look into an OLL, the "bread and butter license. I recommend calling PennDOT and asking them if a minor in your position is eligible to get an OLL. Have your PennDOT letter in front of you when you call, along with your license. In my experience half of the operators there know everything and half know nothing. Do not call a local PennDOT office, call the main office in Harrisburg. If you get a dud, it is almost always worthwhile to call back and try for someone who seems to not hate themselves. The forms for the application are online and easy. But they are $50 so you should have a good idea of whether or not you will be accepted before you just fire one off.

- IF you have not yet been convicted you must file a timely PennDOT appeal/supersedeas and fight the ticket at the District Justice.

An attorney should be able to do both for $1,000 or less depending on where you are in PA. One or two fairly painless court appearances will probably be necessary.

- - - Updated - - -

Don't worry about the details of the accident for now. Procedurally, you have two entities to deal with. First you have the Court system who has charged you with a traffic offense. The second entity is PennDOT. It helps to understand that those two entities are separate, but take actions by communicating between each other. The Court has received a complaint filed by the officer stating that you committed a traffic offense (causing an accident). If you were convicted of that by the Court (the District Justice) you have 30 days from the date of that conviction to appeal your conviction (which is easier and more common than it sounds). If your conviction is more than 30 days old, the conviction is almost certainly not appealable.

The Court notified PennDOT of your charge/conviction, so PennDOT action has been triggered. So, you have a two front battle.

IF...

- IF you were convicted (or pleaded guilty by sending in your ticket with that stub on the citation) and are within that 30 day period, you need to appeal the ticket in court AND appeal the suspension with PennDOT (making sure to file what is called a supersedeas, which will stall the suspension) within the time period mentioned in the letter. It is reasonable and common to file these even if you pleaded guilty.

- IF you were convicted more than 30 days ago, the suspension will more than likely stand. You may not argue that the underlying ticket was wrong if you failed to appeal the conviction in time. You should look into an OLL, the "bread and butter license. I recommend calling PennDOT and asking them if a minor in your position is eligible to get an OLL. Have your PennDOT letter in front of you when you call, along with your license. In my experience half of the operators there know everything and half know nothing. Do not call a local PennDOT office, call the main office in Harrisburg. If you get a dud, it is almost always worthwhile to call back and try for someone who seems to not hate themselves. The forms for the application are online and easy. But they are $50 so you should have a good idea of whether or not you will be accepted before you just fire one off.

- IF you have not yet been convicted you must file a timely PennDOT appeal/supersedeas and fight the ticket at the District Justice.

An attorney should be able to do both for $1,000 or less depending on where you are in PA. One or two fairly painless court appearances will probably be necessary.

[ohheyashlyn]

David, thank you. That is mainly what I wanted to know!!!! I appreciate your help!!!
I am going to try to appeal the suspension and if that does not work, I will try to apply for the Bread and butter license. I will let you know the outcome!