Legal Question in Traffic Law in Pennsylvania
Driver's License in 2 states
My cousin's husband used to live in PA in 2002. A few days before moving to VA, and selling his vehicle, he was pulled over and ticketed for having no insurance. His insurance had just recently expired and he did not get it renewed because he was selling the car. He moved to VA in Sept. 2002 and did not obtain a VA Driver's license. In Dec. 2004 he found out that his PA license was suspended for driving with out insurance. All fees were paid but, his license will still be suspended until December 2005. He went to the PA DMV and surrendered his license which is also expired. He needed a valid license for work or he would lose his job. So, he went to the VA DMV, took a driving test (as a new driver) and got a VA Driver's License. His PA driving record says his license is suspended until Dec. He is planning on going to the PA DMV in Dec. and paying the $25 reinstatement fee to get the suspension taken off of his record. At that time he is going to tell PA that he no longer wants/needs his PA license. 1) Is he holding a license in 2 different states? 3) If so, will he be caught in Dec.? 2) If he is caught, what is the penalty for that? Any help you can provide would be great. Thanks
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Driver's License in 2 states
You are mainly asking about Pennsylvania law, but
a part of it involves Virginia.
What you are describing probably should not have
been possible. The Virginia DMV might have suspended the Virginia license after learning about the Pennsylvania problem. In fact, he should go to the Virginia DMV and ask for a copy of his driving record, as if he just wants to see how many points he has, and DO NOT SAY WHY, and make sure that his Virginia license is actually active.
My advice is do not get pulled over for a ticket until December. Drive like a nun between now and then, to make sure that he does NOT get stopped for anything.
I do not know of any law or rule against holding
a driver's license in two states. Normally when
you apply for a driver's license in Virginia,
Virginia notifies Pennsylvania so Pennsylvania can
delete the record. But in that process, there is
never any fault by the driver for having a
license in two states because of moving and
applying for a new one. Now, Mr. Henderson
mentions that it is important whether or not he
lied on his driver application. That might be
a problem. It would depend on exactly what the
questions were and what he said.
However, if Virginia notified Penn. that he had
moved, then Penn. may not care whether his
license is suspended or not, because he is no
longer their problem. It may be that in December
they would be surprised to hear from him.
I would suggest that in December, he should show
up and say he has "recently" moved to Virginia
(do not say how recently). Say that he wants
his record to be clear in Penn., but he does
not actually need the Penn. license to be active.
He only wants the record to show that he has
cleared up the problem from before. Hopefully
they will be able to figure out what to do.
But it would probably not be a good idea to
ASK for the Pennsylvania license after already
holding a Virginia license, unless he intends
to abandon his residence in Virginia and move
back to Penn. It would also be good to be as
vague as possible (without actually lying)
about how long ago he moved.
You asked if he would be "caught" in December.
Perhaps a Penn. lawyer should comment, but again
there is nothing wrong with moving from one
State to another and asking for a new license.
In fact, it is your constitutional right under
what the Supreme Court calls the "right to travel"
(really, the right to live where you want). So
there is nothing to be "caught" about. He has
a right to move to Virginia and ask for a license
there. The only conceivable problem would be
to take a new license in Penn. when he is already
holding one in Va. That would probably not be
a problem. But just to be cautious, he should
pay the reinstatement fee and tell them he only
wants the record to show him clean, but he is
moving to Virginia.
Re: Driver's License in 2 states
If your husband answered all questions truthfully on the Virginia application and legitimately passed all required tests, his Virginia driver's license is perfectly valid,
although his privilege to operate a vehicle in Pennsylvania may be suspended until 12/05.
I do not know what the latter state may impose
as a penalty if one is caught driving after one's privilege to do so has been suspended.
Perhaps, a Pennsylvania attorney will address this particular issue.
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