For a driver under 18 who goes above six points on a license (or who is convicted of driving 26 milers per hour over a posted speed limit) a 90-day suspension will be handed down, and a written test will be required. A second offense requires a 120-suspension.
The first time a Pennsylvania driver exceeds six points on a license, he or she will be required to pass a safe-driving practices written exam. This exam must be passed within 30 days or the license will be suspended until the driver passes the test. Once passed, this removes 2 points from the driving record.
The second time more than six points accumulate on a license, the driver must attend a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation hearing. Failure to appear for this hearing results in an automatic 60-day suspension. Once at the hearing, an examiner goes over the driver's record. The examiner can levy a 15-day suspension and require a road driving test be passed within 30 days.
A third occurrence of more than six points on a driving record requires another hearing, where the examiner decides whether or not to suspend your license for 30 days. A suspension will be required if the driver fails to appear, and that suspension will last until the driver appears at a hearing. A driver exceeding the speed limit by 31 miles per hour or more is also required attend a hearing, which result in suspension if the driver fails to appear.
Eleven points on a Pennsylvania driver's license results in an automatic suspension of five days per point, if this is the first suspension. One or two previous suspensions gives the driver a suspension of 10 or 15 days per point, respectively. And if the license has been suspended more than that in the past, then a one-year suspension is automatic.
After 12 months without a point-bearing violation, three points are removed. Once the points reach 0 and stay at 0 for one year, then the driver is given a clean slate.
While the points are given in relation to the severity of the offense, some require points as well as automatic suspensions. For instance, circumventing train gates, failure to stop for a flashing school bus and speeding in a work zone all earn points as well as suspensions of up to 60 days each.
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