Drivers of commercial vehicles and school bus drivers are even more restricted than drivers of ordinary vehicles under the current PA DUI law. School bus drivers cannot test at .02 or higher, and commercial vehicle drivers cannot test .04 or higher. At those levels, the DUI penalties begin. As with minor drivers, the first tier is skipped, and sentencing for even low BAC cases starts with a tier two option. If the BAC level qualifies for third tier (BAC of .16 or higher) a third tier punishment could apply.

DUI punishments can apply for school bus and commercial vehicle drivers for controlled substances, including prescription drugs.

Commercial drivers face special consequences for DUI, even when the DUI occurs in a personal vehicle and is unrelated to the driver's commercial driver's license endorsement ("CDL"). The Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act ("MCSIA") treats a DUI on personal time in a personal, non-commercial vehicle, even when it is handled as an ARD case, as a serious offense counting toward a lifetime CDL disqualification. This is different than the old rule, which was that ARD DUI cases did not count toward lifetime disqualification. DUI cases handled through ARD will result in suspension of the CDL for a year even though the personal license suspension period is shorter, such as thirty days. 

Obviously, in addition to the direct penalties for DUI, individuals charged with DUI while operating a school bus or other commercial vehicle may face other charges and may have specialized CDL licensing issues. Those issues are beyond the scope of this website, and you should discuss them with an attorney. You should call attorney Joseph N. Gothie, Esq., at (717) 848-8455 to set up a free, confidential, no-risk consultation to discuss your case, possible sentences, possible defenses, and other DUI issues.

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