Penalties only flow from a conviction or a guilty plea. If your attorney is able to dispose of the charges altogether, there are no penalties. Alternatively, ARD may be a viable consequence and carries reduced penalties, such as no jail time and a much shorter period of license suspension, if any. Otherwise, DUI penalties are highly variable, but there are statutory minimums that are determined by which tier they fall into and how many prior offenses the person has within the last ten years. A prosecutor may pursue and a judge may sentence an individual to punishment in excess of the statutory minimums. A trained attorney may also be able to use certain issues to achieve a result that is more favorable than would apply according to the statutory criteria. Below are the statutory penalties applicable to DUI in Pennsylvania:
|
DUI SENTENCING MATRIX |
FIRST OFFENSE |
SECOND OFFENSE |
THIRD AND SUBSEQUENT OFFENSE |
FOURTH AND SUBSEQUENT OFFENSE |
|
TIER ONE
§3802(a)(1) – General Impairment, Unsafe Driving, with no refusal or accident
§3802(a)(2) – General Impairment, BAC .08 < .10%
|
- Ungraded misdemeanor
- No min jail
- $300 fine
- Treatment if warranted
- No license suspension or ignition interlock |
- Ungraded misdemeanor
- 5 days jail min
- $300-$2500 fine
- Treatment
- 12 months license suspension
- 12 months ignition interlock |
- Second degree misdemeanor
- 10 days jail min
- $500-$5000 fine
- Treatment
- 12 months license suspension
- 12 months ignition interlock |
N/A |
|
TIER TWO
§3802(a)(1) – General Impairment, Unsafe Driving, resulting in an accident with injury, death, or damages
§3802(b) – High Rate, BAC .10 < .16% §3802(e) – Minors, BAC .02% or greater
§3802(f) – Commercial & School Vehicles |
- Ungraded misdemeanor
- 48 hrs jail min
- $500-$5000 fine
- Treatment if warranted
- 12 months license suspension
- No ignition interlock |
- Ungraded misdemeanor
- 30 days jail min
- $750-$5000 fine
- Treatment
- 12 months license suspension
- 12 months ignition interlock |
- First degree misdemeanor
- 90 days jail min
- $1500-$10,000 fine
- Treatment
- 18 months license suspension
- 12 months ignition interlock |
- First degree misdemeanor
- 1 year jail min
- $1500-$10,000 fine
- Treatment
- 18 months license suspension
- 12 months ignition interlock |
|
TIER THREE
§3802(a) – General Impairment, Unsafe Driving, with Refusal to Submit to Chemical Testing
§3802(c) – Highest Rate, BAC .16% or greater
§3802(d) – Controlled Substances (Drugs or combination of alcohol and drugs) |
- Ungraded misdemeanor
- 72 hrs jail min
- $1000-$5000 fine
- Treatment if warranted or if BAC is .16% or greater
- 12 months license suspension
- No ignition interlock |
- First degree misdemeanor
- 90 days jail min
- $1500-$10,000 fine
- Treatment
- 18 months license suspension
- 12 months ignition interlock |
- First degree misdemeanor
- 1 year jail min
- $2500-$10,000 fine
- Treatment
- 18 months license suspension
- 12 months ignition interlock |
N/A |
