Dl-26 Warning In Pennsylvania

In Everhart v. Commonwealth, 54 Pa. Commw. 22, 420 A.2d 13, 15 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1980), the Court held that a DL-26 warning that advised a motorist that his license "could be suspended" for refusing a test was not sufficient to satisfy Section 1547(b). The Court held that the words "will be suspended," which are those used in Section 1547(b), must be recited by the arresting officer. Likewise, in Yoon v. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing, 718 A.2d 386 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1998), the Court held that the warning requirement in Section 1547(b) was not satisfied by having the motorist read the DL-26 warning silently to himself. Rather, construing the statute strictly, the Court held that the arresting officer must also read the DL-26 warning aloud to the motorist.