Poborski v. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing

In Poborski v. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing, 964 A.2d 66 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2009) the licensee was charged with DUI under Section 3802 of the Vehicle Code, as amended, 75 Pa. C.S. 3802, and he accepted ARD. The licensee was notified by DOT that his personal driving privileges would be suspended for thirty days and that his commercial driving privileges would be disqualified for one year due to his acceptance of ARD. He appealed the suspension and disqualification to the trial court and also petitioned the court to be removed from ARD and to have his case remanded to a magistrate so that he could challenge the underlying charge. The trial court granted Poborski's petition and request to be removed from ARD. At hearings before the trial court on the licensee's appeals, he argued that his withdrawal from ARD triggered a nullification of DOT's actions, and DOT argued that the licensee's acceptance of ARD triggered both the suspension and the disqualification. The trial court determined that the licensee's acceptance of ARD required DOT's actions and that it did not matter whether the licensee completed or removed himself from ARD. The trial court dismissed the licensee's appeals of the suspension and the disqualification.