PA Drunk Drivers Can Remain on the Road

November 2009

Over 50,000 Pennsylvania motorists get caught drunk driving each year and remain on the road. This is because, unlike most states in the country, Pennsylvania has what critics are calling a loophole law.

According to the law, a person's license can't be seized until there is a conviction. This means that a drunk driver can cause a deadly crash, be arrested by the police, and then allowed to continue driving. In 41 other states this isn't the case. In Maryland, you lose your license for 45 days after the first DUI arrest. In Ohio, you lose it for 90 days. In West Virginia, it's revoked for six months.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving has been lobbying the state's legislature for a change in the law. However, Pennsylvania lawmakers say that it would be difficult to get such legislation passed and anticipate that the current law will remain in effect.