§ 1543. Driving while operating privilege is suspended or revoked
Purdon's Pennsylvania Statutes and Consolidated StatutesTitle 75 Pa.C.S.A. VehiclesEffective: January 3, 2024
Effective: January 3, 2024
75 Pa.C.S.A. § 1543
§ 1543. Driving while operating privilege is suspended or revoked
(a) Offense defined.--Except as provided in subsection (b), any person who drives a motor vehicle on any highway or trafficway of this Commonwealth after the commencement of a suspension, revocation or cancellation of the operating privilege and before the operating privilege has been restored is guilty of a summary offense and shall, upon conviction or adjudication of delinquency, be sentenced to pay a fine of $200.
(i) A person who drives a motor vehicle on a highway or trafficway of this Commonwealth at a time when the person's operating privilege is suspended or revoked as a condition of acceptance of Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition for a violation of section 3802 (relating to driving under influence of alcohol or controlled substance) or the former section 3731, because of a violation of section 1547(b)(1) (relating to suspension for refusal) or 3802 or former section 3731 or is suspended under section 1581 (relating to Driver's License Compact) for an offense substantially similar to a violation of section 3802 or former section 3731 shall, upon a first conviction, be guilty of a summary offense and shall be sentenced to pay a fine of $500 and to undergo imprisonment for a period of not less than 60 days nor more than 90 days.
(1.1)(i) A person who has an amount of alcohol by weight in his blood that is equal to or greater than .02% at the time of testing or who at the time of testing has in his blood any amount of a Schedule I or nonprescribed Schedule II or III controlled substance, as defined in the act of April 14, 1972 (P.L. 233, No. 64),1 known as The Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act, or its metabolite or who refuses testing of blood or breath and who drives a motor vehicle on any highway or trafficway of this Commonwealth at a time when the person's operating privilege is suspended or revoked as a condition of acceptance of Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition for a violation of section 3802 or former section 3731 or because of a violation of section 1547(b)(1) or 3802 or former section 3731 or is suspended under section 1581 for an offense substantially similar to a violation of section 3802 or former section 3731 shall, upon a first conviction, be guilty of a summary offense and shall be sentenced to pay a fine of $1,000 and to undergo imprisonment for a period of not less than 90 days.
(2) This subsection shall apply to any person against whom one of these suspensions has been imposed whether the person is currently serving this suspension or whether the effective date of suspension has been deferred under any of the provisions of section 1544 (relating to additional period of revocation or suspension). This provision shall also apply until the person has had the operating privilege restored. This subsection shall also apply to any revocation imposed pursuant to section 1542 (relating to revocation of habitual offender's license) if any of the enumerated offenses was for a violation of section 3802 or former section 3731 or for an out- of-State offense that is substantially similar to a violation of section 3802 or former section 3731, for which a revocation is imposed under section 1581.
(1.1) If the department's records show that the person was under an indefinite suspension on the date of violation for not satisfactorily completing a driver improvement school as required under section 1538 (relating to school, examination or hearing on accumulation of points or excessive speeding), and had not been restored, the department shall suspend the person's operating privilege for an additional 30-day period.
(d) Citation of appropriate subsection.--Prior to filing a citation for a violation of this section with the issuing authority named in the citation, the police officer shall verify the basis for the suspension with the department. Upon receiving the verification, the officer shall cite the appropriate subsection of this section on the citation.
Credits
1976, June 17, P.L. 162, No. 81, § 1, imd. effective. Amended 1982, Dec. 15, P.L. 1268, No. 289, § 4, effective in 30 days; 1986, Dec. 11, P.L. 1530, No. 166, § 4, effective in 60 days; 1987, Nov. 23, P.L. 399, No. 82, § 3, effective in 60 days; 1994, Dec. 12, P.L. 1048, No. 143, § 2, effective in nine months; 1998, Dec. 21, P.L. 1126, No. 151, § 18, imd. effective; 2002, Oct. 4, P.L. 845, No. 123, § 3, effective in 60 days; 2003, Sept. 30, P.L. 120, No. 24, § 9, effective Feb. 1, 2004; 2012, July 5, P.L. 914, No. 93, § 1, effective in 60 days [Sept. 4, 2012]; 2017, July 20, P.L. 333, No. 30, § 2, effective in 15 months [Oct. 20, 2018]; 2018, Oct. 24, P.L. 925, No. 153, § 1, effective in 60 days [Dec. 24, 2018]; 2022, Nov. 3, P.L. 1783, No. 120, § 2, effective in 14 months [Jan. 3, 2024].
Footnotes
35 P.S. § 780-101 et seq.
75 Pa.C.S.A. § 1543, PA ST 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 1543
Current through Act 10 of the 2024 Regular Session. Some statute sections may be more current, see credits for details.
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