Does Suspending the Driving License of An Individual Convicted of Possessing Drugs Act As a General Deterence for Drug Offences ?

In Plowman v. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing, 535 Pa. 314, 635 A.2d 124 (1993), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court addressed the public policy goals behind the predecessor to Section 1532(c) of the Vehicle Code, see n3, in rejecting a constitutional challenge to the suspension of a driver's license in connection with a conviction of an offense under the Drug Act. There the licensee was convicted of possessing a small amount of marijuana in her home in violation of Section 13(a)(31) of the Drug Act, 35 P.S. 780-113(a)(31). The Supreme Court held that under the applicable rational basis analysis, the prospect of losing one's driver's license might deter an initial offense but that such suspension was not criminal punishment. Also in Brosius v. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing, 664 A.2d 199, 201 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1995), this Court stated that the predecessor to Section 1532(c) serves "a broader goal of general deterrence."