Pennsylvania Driver License: Driving Record, DUI and Police Stops

25 questions with the correct answer and an explanation for each. Topic: Driving Record, DUI and Police Stops. Free, no account needed.

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1. A driver over 18 reaches six points on their PennDOT record for the first time. What is PennDOT required to do?

  1. Schedule a Departmental hearing
  2. Suspend the license for 90 days
  3. Send written notice to take a special point examination
  4. Remove three points automatically

Answer: C — Send written notice to take a special point examination

The first time a record reaches six or more points, the driver gets written notice to take a special point examination; a Departmental hearing only follows if points climb back to six after dropping below. The 90-day suspension is the separate rule for drivers under 18.

2. A 17-year-old driver reaches six points on their record for the first time. How long is the license suspended?

  1. 30 days
  2. 90 days
  3. 60 days
  4. 120 days

Answer: B — 90 days

A first-time occurrence for a driver under 18 draws a 90-day suspension; 120 days applies only to a later occurrence.

3. A driver goes 12 consecutive months without a suspension, revocation, or point-carrying violation. What happens to their point total?

  1. All points are wiped clean immediately
  2. Three points are removed
  3. Five points are removed
  4. The points remain unchanged until the next violation

Answer: B — Three points are removed

Three points come off for every clean 12-month period, not the whole record at once.

4. Which of these does the manual list among the convictions that suspend or revoke the driving privilege?

  1. Failing to signal before changing lanes
  2. Parking in a no-parking zone
  3. Hit-and-run — leaving the scene of a crash you were involved in
  4. Driving with an expired inspection sticker

Answer: C — Hit-and-run — leaving the scene of a crash you were involved in

Hit-and-run appears by name in the manual's list of convictions that suspend or revoke the privilege; none of the other three choices appear on that list.

5. A driver fails to stop for a school bus that has its red lights flashing and stop arm extended. What suspension results?

  1. 30 days
  2. 60 days
  3. 15 days
  4. 90 days

Answer: B — 60 days

The school bus stop-arm violation carries a 60-day suspension, distinct from the 30-day railroad crossing penalty.

6. A driver drives around a lowered railroad crossing gate or barrier. What suspension applies?

  1. 60 days
  2. 90 days
  3. 15 days
  4. 30 days

Answer: D — 30 days

Failing to obey a railroad crossing gate or barrier draws a 30-day suspension.

7. A driver receives written notice of a license suspension and wants to appeal. What is the deadline, and where do they file?

  1. 10 days, to the Departmental hearing office
  2. 30 days, to the Court of Common Pleas in their county
  3. 60 days, to PennDOT's Bureau of Driver Licensing
  4. 15 days, to the local police department

Answer: B — 30 days, to the Court of Common Pleas in their county

The appeal window is 30 days from the mailing date, filed with the Court of Common Pleas in the driver's county.

8. A driver's liability insurance lapses for 45 days. What happens to the vehicle's registration?

  1. It is suspended for 31 days
  2. Nothing, as long as the vehicle isn't driven
  3. It is revoked permanently
  4. It is suspended for three months

Answer: D — It is suspended for three months

A lapse of 31 days or longer triggers a three-month registration suspension.

9. A driver's insurance lapses for over a month and they continue driving the vehicle without coverage. Besides the registration suspension, what happens to their driving privilege?

  1. It is suspended for one year
  2. It is suspended for three months
  3. It is revoked permanently
  4. Nothing extra, since only the vehicle is penalized

Answer: B — It is suspended for three months

Driving uninsured during a lapse adds a matching three-month suspension of the driving privilege.

10. A car behind you flashes only blue lights, with no red. What does this indicate?

  1. It is not a police officer
  2. It's an ambulance you must yield to immediately
  3. It's a police officer and you must stop
  4. It's an unmarked police car

Answer: A — It is not a police officer

Police signal with red-and-blue or red-only lights; a vehicle flashing only blue is specifically identified as not being a police officer.

11. An officer approaches a vehicle during a traffic stop, and the driver has a firearm inside. What should the driver do?

  1. Keep it out of sight in the glove compartment
  2. Tell the officer about it right away
  3. Say nothing unless asked directly
  4. Place it on the dashboard so it's visible

Answer: B — Tell the officer about it right away

Drivers are told to tell the officer at once about any firearm, not to stay silent or move it.

12. A driver signaled to pull over suspects the car behind them isn't actually a police vehicle. What is the recommended response?

  1. Stop immediately no matter what
  2. Drive at reduced speed to the nearest well-lit, populated area while acknowledging with flashers
  3. Speed away until reaching home
  4. Call police dispatch and wait in place with the engine off

Answer: B — Drive at reduced speed to the nearest well-lit, populated area while acknowledging with flashers

The recommended move is to acknowledge the stop with flashers and proceed at reduced speed to a well-lit, populated area, not to stop blindly or flee at speed.

13. A driver backs into a parked car in a lot and can't find the owner. What must they do?

  1. Wait at the scene for up to 24 hours
  2. Leave a note with the date, time, name and phone number, then call police
  3. Report it only if the damage is over $1,000
  4. Leave immediately since no one was hurt

Answer: B — Leave a note with the date, time, name and phone number, then call police

Hitting a parked car requires stopping, finding the owner or leaving a note with date, time, name and phone number, and calling police.

14. A driver is in a crash with an injury, but police do not come to investigate. What must the driver do?

  1. Send a Driver's Accident Report (AA-600) to PennDOT within five days
  2. File a report within 30 days
  3. Call PennDOT within 24 hours
  4. Nothing further is required since police didn't respond

Answer: A — Send a Driver's Accident Report (AA-600) to PennDOT within five days

When police don't investigate a crash involving injury, death, or a towed vehicle, the driver must send an AA-600 report to PennDOT within five days.

15. A driver is convicted of fleeing or eluding police. What penalty applies?

  1. Permanent revocation of the license
  2. A six-month suspension and a $1,000 fine
  3. A one-year suspension and a $500 fine plus costs
  4. A 90-day suspension and a $300 fine

Answer: C — A one-year suspension and a $500 fine plus costs

Conviction for fleeing or eluding police brings a one-year suspension and a $500 fine plus costs, and possibly jail.

16. A 30-year-old driver is stopped and tested for alcohol. At what BAC are they legally considered under the influence?

  1. .02 or higher
  2. .08 or higher
  3. .10 or higher
  4. .05 or higher

Answer: B — .08 or higher

Drivers 21 or older are under the influence at a BAC of .08 or higher; the .02 threshold applies only to drivers under 21.

17. A 19-year-old driver is tested after being pulled over. At what BAC does this become a DUI?

  1. .08 or greater
  2. .05 or greater
  3. .02 or greater
  4. .10 or greater

Answer: C — .02 or greater

Under Zero Tolerance, any driver under 21 is DUI at a BAC of .02 or greater, far lower than the adult .08 threshold.

18. A driver arrested for DUI refuses the chemical breath test, and is later found not guilty of the DUI charge. What happens to their license?

  1. It is suspended only if they refuse a second time
  2. It is suspended only for six months
  3. Nothing, since they were found not guilty
  4. It is suspended for one year anyway

Answer: D — It is suspended for one year anyway

Refusing a chemical test after a DUI arrest triggers an automatic one-year suspension even if the driver is later found not guilty.

19. A driver with a prior DUI on their record is arrested for a new DUI and refuses the chemical test. What is the total suspension length?

  1. 18 months
  2. Three years
  3. 2½ years
  4. One year

Answer: B — Three years

With a prior DUI or refusal, the penalty stacks: 18 months for the refusal plus 18 months for the DUI, totaling three years.

20. A driver convicted of a high-BAC DUI is granted a restricted license. What must they install on any vehicle they drive?

  1. A GPS tracking device
  2. An ignition interlock
  3. Nothing extra beyond the restricted license
  4. A dashcam

Answer: B — An ignition interlock

High-BAC and repeat offenders, and refusers, must install an ignition interlock on any vehicle they drive as a condition of a restricted license.

21. A 19-year-old is convicted of DUI with a BAC of .03. Which penalty table applies?

  1. High Rate table
  2. General impairment table
  3. Highest Rate table
  4. No table applies since they are under the legal drinking age

Answer: A — High Rate table

A driver under 21 convicted at .02 or above is sentenced under the High Rate table regardless of the actual BAC.

22. A driver under 21 is convicted of DUI for the first time. What penalty applies?

  1. A $500 fine only, with no suspension or jail
  2. 90 days license loss and a $300 fine, no jail
  3. Automatic ARD with no jail time
  4. Two days to six months in jail, a one-year suspension, and a $500 to $5,000 fine

Answer: D — Two days to six months in jail, a one-year suspension, and a $500 to $5,000 fine

A first under-21 DUI conviction carries two days to six months in jail, a one-year suspension, and a $500 to $5,000 fine.

23. An adult knowingly supplies alcohol to minors at a party, for the first such offense. What is the minimum fine?

  1. $2,500
  2. $300
  3. $500
  4. $1,000

Answer: D — $1,000

Adults who knowingly supply alcohol to minors face a fine of at least $1,000 for a first offense, rising to $2,500 for each additional one.

24. A licensed Pennsylvania driver moves to another Driver's License Compact member state and applies for a license there. What must they do with their Pennsylvania license?

  1. Mail it back to PennDOT within 30 days
  2. Surrender it when applying for the new one
  3. Keep both licenses active
  4. Nothing is required

Answer: B — Surrender it when applying for the new one

Compact member states share one license, so the old out-of-state license must be surrendered when applying for a new one.

25. A driver ignores a traffic citation received in another Driver's License Compact member state. What happens to their Pennsylvania driving privilege?

  1. It is suspended for one year
  2. It is suspended for 90 days
  3. It is suspended indefinitely until they respond
  4. It is unaffected since the citation was out of state

Answer: C — It is suspended indefinitely until they respond

Ignoring an out-of-state citation suspends the Pennsylvania privilege indefinitely until the driver responds to it.

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