Silver Appeal

54 Pa. D. & C.2d 616, 1972 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 554
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Bucks County
DecidedJanuary 20, 1972
Docketno. 3402
StatusPublished

This text of 54 Pa. D. & C.2d 616 (Silver Appeal) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Bucks County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Silver Appeal, 54 Pa. D. & C.2d 616, 1972 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 554 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1972).

Opinion

MOUNTENAY, J.,

Joseph Silver has appealed from the order of the Secretary of Transportation suspending his operating privileges for a period of 90 days. After hearing de novo, we make the following

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Appellant, Joseph Silver, is a resident of Bucks County, Pa., and the holder of a Pennsylvania motor vehicle operator’s license.

2. On March 7, 1967, appellant was convicted of violating section 1002(b) (4) of The Vehicle Code and was assigned six points under the provisions of section 619.1(b). As a result, he was required to attend driving school pursuant to section 619.1(f). Having successfully completed this course, he was credited with one point (ibid.), whereupon he had five points remaining.

3. On February 1, 1968, appellant was convicted of [617]*617a violation of section 1028(a), for which violation five additional points were assigned, resulting in a total of 10 points. Appellant was now required to undergo a special examination, and having ultimately failed the same, to wit, on October 13, 1970, five more points were assigned under section 619.1(f), resulting in a total of 15 points.

4. Having accumulated 15 points, a total of 11 or more as provided in section 619.l(i), appellant’s operating privileges were suspended, as of November 12, 1970, for a period of 60 days, the period of suspension being prescribed in section 619. l(k). Privileges were restored on January 20, 1971. According to the records of the Department of Transportation, appellant’s record as of the date of restoration showed five points, this being pursuant to the provisions of section 619.l(m).

5. Meanwhile, on March 13, 1968, appellant was convicted of a violation of section 1002(b) (7) which resulted in an assignment of six points under section 619.1(b). Accordingly, appellant was given notice under date of August 23, 1971 that he had accumulated 11 points and that his privileges were being suspended, effective September 7, 1971, for a period of 90 days under section 619.l(i) and 619.1(k). The basis for the computation of 11 points was the five points with which appellant began his period of restoration on January 20, 1970, plus the six points assigned as the result of the March 13, 1968 conviction. It is from this suspension that appellant appeals.

DISCUSSION

Insofar as the present situation is concerned, the applicable provisions of section 619.1 of The Vehicle Code may be paraphrased as follows:

a. When an operator accumulates as many as six [618]*618points for the first time, he may be required, inter alia, to attend a driving clinic. Successful completion results in a credit of one point: Section 619.1(f).

b. When the operator’s record (having previously shown six points or more) falls below six points and for a second time rises to six points or more, he may be required, inter aha, to take a special examination. No credit is given for “passing” the examination, but a “failure” results in five additional points being assigned: Section 619.1(g).

c. When an operator accumulates as many as 11 points, the Secretary is required to suspend: section 619. l(i). If this suspension be for the first time under the point system, its duration shall be for a period of 60 days: Section 619.l(k).

d. Whenever operating privileges are restored following suspension, irrespective of how many or how few points the operator’s record showed prior to suspension, he begins his period of restoration with five points against him; that is to say, as of the date of restoration, an operator’s record will show five points. Following restoration, the points are reduced at the rate of two points per year for each year the operator avoids further violations: Section 619.1(m).

Appellant argues that had the points he acquired by reason of the March 13, 1968, violation been assigned to him prior to the restoration of privileges following his November 12, 1970, suspension, this suspension would have expunged all accumulated points except for the five with which all “restorees” renew their driving careers under section 619. l(m). Had this been done, the suspension from which appellant is appealing could not have been imposed because the six points for the March 13, 1968, violation would have been among those expunged by the November 12,1970, suspension.

The Commonwealth agrees that if the secretary had [619]*619sought to penalize the appellant for his March 13,1968, conviction prior to the November 12,1970, suspension, appellant would not have been subject to the present suspension. However, the Commonwealth argues that The Vehicle Code provides no period of limitations within which the secretary must take departmental action and that an operator must simply take his chances as to when the departmental records happen to “get caught up.” For this proposition, the Commonwealth relies upon Criswell Motor Vehicle Operator License Case, 219 Pa. Superior Ct. 170 (1971); Heller Motor Vehicle Operator License Case, 196 Pa. Superior Ct. 340 (1961); and Cooper Automobile License Case, 18 Bucks L. Rep. 606 (1969). All of these cases hold that a suspension will not be revoked simply because a prolonged period of time intervened between the suspension and the conviction or offense upon which the suspension was based. None of these cases, however, dealt with a situation where, because of the secretary’s delay, appellant would be required to undergo a period of suspension other than that which he would have undergone had the secretary acted promptly.

However, the basic consideration in the instant case is not whether the secretary took prompt action against appellant. Rather, the controlling issue is whether the secretary assigned the points to appellant’s record as of the proper time. According to section 619.1(b) the secretary “shall assign [the points] to the record of such person as of the date of conviction of the offense” underlying the assignment of the points. Had the six points resulting from the March 13, 1968, conviction been assigned as of that date, appellant’s record would have shown a total of 16 points as of March 13,1968. In other words, there would have been six points from the March 7, 1967, conviction, minus [620]*620one for attending driving school, plus five for the February 1,1968, conviction, plus six for the March 13, 1968, conviction. Further, upon fading the driving test on October 13, 1970, appellant would then have accumulated five additional points, or a total of 21.

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Related

Nyman Motor Vehicle Operator License Case
275 A.2d 836 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1971)
Criswell Motor Vehicle Operator License Case
280 A.2d 553 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1971)
Heller Motor Vehicle Operator License Case
175 A.2d 305 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1961)

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Bluebook (online)
54 Pa. D. & C.2d 616, 1972 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 554, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/silver-appeal-pactcomplbucks-1972.