DUI in Pennsylvania What happens after your arrest

So, you have just been charged with a DUI in Pennsylvania. It can be a scary experience and you are not sure how to handle it. Well, I will gives you a heads up into the process of DUI and how it works here in the state of Pennsylvania.

In Pennsylvania, the legal definition of driving under the influence is a BAC of .08 or higher. It used to be .10 but due to some great lobbying from MADD and the threat of losing highway tax dollars from the federal government, Pennsylvania lowered the limit to .08. Soon it might be even a lower BAC at .04.

You had some drinks and got pulled over. Well, you could have also gone through a checkpoint. They used to call them roadblocks, but checkpoints sound more digestible and politically correct. You could have also been the target of "roving patrols". If you read that article, you may have noticed how the State Trooper Reznick admits, “It’s very difficult not to be able to find some type of equipment violation even on a new car”. I guess that is protecting and serving in the 21st century.

Once you are arrested, you will be transported a state police barracks or the hospital for either a breathalyzer test or a blood test. The blood test is more accurate, although the breathalyzer is accurate if calibrated correctly. Guess what? They do calibrate them regularly. I will get back to that when I talk later of getting a lawyer.

When you are done "giving your sample" you will either be given a ride home or someone will be called to pick you up. Yip! It's damn embarrassing. Helpful Hint: Don't not try to play with the breathalyzer device. What I mean is don't try to blow out of the side or your mouth or act like you don't have enough breath. They will give you a couple of chances before they finally just charge you with a refusal. This can be even worse driving license wise than the DUI itself.

Calm down now. You won't receive the actual charges in the mail for another 7 to 21 days usually. So, you can go through your daily living with the prospect of going to jail and losing your license hanging over your head or just pretend it was a bad dream. You can also pray your blood test results get lost in the mail or got mixed up with another suspect who was under the legal limit.

That's another thing. Just because you are under the legal limit doesn't mean you can't be charged with DUI in Pennsylvania. This usually happens when you have an accident and may be under the legal limit of .08, yet the police officer believes the alcohol contributed to the accident. It's kind of rare since most of the time a jury will have a hard time convicting.

Here is another somewhat bizarre way of getting a DUI in Pennsylvania. If someone under the influence drives your car, with you in it, not only will they be charged with DUI but you will also be charged. Many people find themselves blindsided by this one, but it is the law.

Let's get back to your charges. After you have been charged you may wonder, "What is the next step?" Your next step can be get a lawyer or wait until you receive the official charges in the mail. If you go to the lawyer before you receive the charges it's kind of a waste of time since he won't be able to do anything until he can see the criminal complaint. Of course, he will still charge you for the pleasure of talking to him. So, just wait for the mailman.

It's the big day. You got your charges. Now you can go see the lawyer and get this squashed. Deep down you hope the lawyer really likes you and he plays golf with the officer who arrested you, the DA, and a few judges and they will squash the charges if you dress up like Santa for their kids. Probably not going to happen.

After reading the charges over, the lawyer says, "I might be able to get this reduced if the breathalyzer machine wasn't calibrated correctly" or "We might be able to dispute the blood test". Again, the chance of this being successful is really low.

After getting your lawyer, the next step will be a preliminary hearing. This takes place before a district magistrate who decides if there is enough evidence for the charges to move to court. The magistrate will just look at the results of the breathalyzer or blood and move it through. You have the right to contest and charges and have a hearing. Most lawyers will want you to waive it and go for the plea bargain or take it to trial.

When you received the charges in the mail, it will instruct you to have your finger prints recorded. You do this by visiting your sheriffs office or the local state police barracks. Yes! You will also pay for the privilege of recording your fingerprints for life into a state police data base. So, don't commit any crimes after this without gloves on. Just kidding! Go ahead and do some more. The charge for fingerprints is between $65 and $75. That was last time I had to do it and that was nearly 10 years ago.

Arraignment time. After the preliminary hearing, the next formal court proceeding will be arraignment. It's just where you or your lawyer will officially enter your plea of guilty or not guilty. Yeah! Enter not guilty. Entering guilty will result in getting to the fast lane of sentencing. We don't want to do that. Not guilty gets us to the next phase of  plea bargaining. BTW, if you have a lawyer you don't usually need to be present for arraignment. Your well paid lawyer will fill out some papers for you.

Plea bargaining. Here is where your lawyer comes in handy. This is where he acts like he has really done you some good because the DA has agreed to give you the minimum sentence if you plead guilty. Well, guess what? You could of got that yourself as long as you don't have mitigating circumstances (you assaulted the officer, pissed in the cop car, spit on the cop, etc.). If this is your first DUI and you have a pretty clean criminal record you will most likely qualify for ARD. ARD will allow you to also have the DUI charge expunged from your record, provided you meet the requirements of the program. If you don't have a lawyer (or don't want to pay from one) just contact the ARD coordinator in your county. You will then be given an appointment to sign some papers and most likely get accepted into the ARD program.

It's pretty simple and easy. Just follow instructions.

Pennsylvania Probationary Drivers License to a Standard Drivers License

In a previous post, I stated how the departmental review for a probationary license works.

Well, now I will follow up with the experience of getting back a standard driver's license in Pennsylvania once the Pennsylvania Probationary Drivers License concludes.

My situation was that I had a Probationary Interlock License which meant I could only drive a vehicle with the interlock installed and also could only drive from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. by default. These hours were fine for me. They can be changed for valid reasons such as work, school, or medical reasons.

So, about two months before my Probationary License was about to expire I called the toll free number to PennDOT to speak to a "specialist" about my license and what I needed to do. Understand, I still have this ignition interlock in my vehicle and paying $85 a month for it isn't what I consider cheap. So, what do I need to do to continue driving and have my interlock uninstalled after my one year was up.

I was told I would need to get form DL180, which is for a learner's permit, have a physical, go to the nearest driver's center and take the knowledge test, followed by the eye examination.

To make it short, just do everything over. I asked, "So, I drove a vehicle for a year and now I have to go and take all the tests to show I can drive?" I was told yes.

So, here is the funny thing. The $63.75 check that I sent in early  July to renew the probationary license was cashed on July 17th and now I was informed in August - one day before my probationary license expired - that I would have to get a driving permit and complete the tests in order to continue driving. I was told there was a "processing error" and the form submission could not be completed, although the check was cashed.

I asked it would have been nice if I could have been informed maybe a month, even two weeks before my probationary license expired. I was just given the typical "I don't know how this happened". Then I was also informed I would need to submit forms DL-16 and DL-17, which state I own no vehicles in Pennsylvania that required insurance and the other form stating I will send in my license, no longer have the license, or it expired. In my case, it expired.

The only good thing out of this conversation in futility was that I was given a PennDOT Fax Number and then after submitting the forms, I received a call five days later from a PennDOT worker who processes the forms from that fax number.

Here are some PennDOT Telephone and Fax Number for getting your license back quicker.

PennDOT Fax Number: 1 (717) 705-2404 You should address the Fax to Mr. Roderick.

Telephone Number for talking to an actual human being WHO CAN PROCESS YOUR NEEDED FORMS: 1 (717) 787-4220 The lady I spoke to was named Lou. She also informed me that Mr. Roderick was out of the office for two days so she would process the forms. Thanks Lou!

If you have been frustrated trying to get your Pennsylvania Driver's License back, maybe this information can help. By the way, I had my permit the next day after talking to Lou and passed my drivers test four days later. I'm all set and will be driving safely and securely. Oh! how it feels to be free again to live life like an adult.LP - 336 Danger - High Voltage Driver License Plate - 287 (Google Affiliate Ad)

Convert your Wordpress Blog to Blogger

How to import your Wordpress Blog or Site to Blogger

Ok! So you have a Wordpress Blog and would like to import it into a Blogger account. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, Yes and No. If you have a small Wordpress export file, less than 1 MB, it's real simple.

Export your Wordpress by going to Tools -> Export in your Admin Panel at your Wordpress blog. I saved All content in the Export area. Then, take your saved file and go to the Wordpress to Blooger app and upload your file. There is a maximum size of 1 MB allowed. Although, I read some people were able to use it successfully when their file was between 1 and 2 MBs.

After, you download your now converted file, log into your Blogger account or create a new one. Then go to Settings -> Import Blog and upload your converted file. You should now have all posts, comments, and pages.

But my Wordpress file is much larger than 1 MB

So you have the same problem I had. Well, there is a solution. My database was nearly 50 MBs. I used a news fetching feeder plugin the updated the site once daily. I had over 21,000 posts. I could of used a text editor and cut down the file manually about 50 times, but I had better things to do. After searching Google, I finally came across a cool little app that was free and did only one thing and only the one thing I wanted. It allowed me to import and XML file. That is the type of file you exported from Wordress and then specify how big of a file I wanted it split into. I selected 1 MB and hit the Split Files button. Now, I had the right file size to upload over at the Wordpress to Blogger App site.

Now of course I had to do this about 50 times and then proceed to upload the files about 50 times to Blogger, but that is my dilemma due to the number of posts. Of course, now I have all my content still on the web with no hosting or domain fees anymore.

So, if you need to convert your Wordpress Blog to a Blogger account give it a try. Here are the links again.
Wordpress to Blogger Site. Converts your Wordpress Export File into a Blogger format

Ranger Pretzel Site. XML Splitter App. Let's you split large XML files into a smaller size you specify.



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Horse Back Riding on the Bartram Trail

If you have horses or want to ride horses in Northern Berks or Southern Schuylkill County, the Bartram trail is a great place to try. The section from Hamburg to Auburn is approximately 7 miles and allows for a great trek for a total of a little over 14 miles. The terrain is flat and not hard on the horses at all. Water is also readily available along the trail at various spots for your horses. You shouldn't have to worry about dogs since all dogs should be leashed at all times. If you live in the vicinty the Bartram Trail is a great trail for horseback riding in this area. Happy Trails!

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Bartram Trail in Hamburg PA

I was out recently and took some photos of the Bartram Trail in Hamburg, PA. I was only able to take 5 or 6 photos before my battery died in the camera.





I have it fully charged and ready to go now. Here are those photos.

The Bartram Trail in Hamburg, PA.

The Arch in Auburn Pennsylvania

The entrance to Auburn, PA. Commonly referred to as The Arch.

Here are some photos of the Arch in Auburn,PA. The Arch is also known as the entrance to Auburn. The Reading and Northern Railroad runs on the tracks that go over the Arch.

Years ago, people would hang out and socialize on the steps to the arch. It was a favorite place among teenagers of the time. This was before the internet and today's world of Facebook.

The arch also has a small dirt road right before the steps the leads back to the Auburn Canal. This was a very popular spot for fishing and also bush parties.

On the area to the right of the Arch is the Schuylkill River which has a small path/trail that leads to the Schuylkill River and is still quite popular with local fishermen.

The actual street that runs under the Arch is known as Route 895 or Market Street in Auburn, PA.

The Landingville Marsh Area Landingville, PA

The Landingville Marsh Area - Landingville, PA

A view of the Marsh Area from the Bartram Trail parking lot in Landingville, PA

Just past the marsh area in Landingville. This is near the entrance to the falls of the Auburn Dam. The Bartram Trail currently ends at the concrete barrier seen in this picture.

The Landingville Marsh Area is a great place for outdoor recreation. Some activities include fishing, walking, and bird watching. The marsh isn't fished much, but you can catch sunfish, bass, and pickerel there. The Bartram Trail runs along the one side of the marsh and allows you to connect to a trail that goes around the marsh and comes back out to the road. When you get near the road you will be alongside the Schuylkill River.



Signs posted along the marsh state the marsh area is home to 211 species of birds with 77 confirmed to be nesting in the area. The marsh is also very close to the Auburn / Landingville Dam which is heavily used for boating and fishing. The Dam is home to a large number of fish which include catfish, large mouth bass. small mouth bass, carp, perch, suckers, musky, pickerel, walleye, and pike. In the past few years some reports show trout in the dam. This is probably due to trout being stocked north of the dam in the Schuylkill River near Pottsville.

I will be taking more photos of the Marsh in the future and will upload them here.

Lehigh and New England Trail Tamaqua, PA

A few weeks ago, I took and dogs and decided to check out the Lehigh and New England Trail in Tamaqua, PA. This trail is about 3 miles long or 2.7 miles as listed on www.traillink.com.

The trail is slightly south of Tamaqua on Dairy Road. Dairy Road is directly across Rt. 443 at the intersection of Rt. 443 and Rt. 309. Here is a map to show it better.


View Larger Map

When you get on Dairy Road, right as you pass the TLC Convenience Store on the right, the trail will be about 500 feet on the left. Right before the Lehigh and New England Trail is a paved area on the left where you can park. Its flat and paved, but not very large. You may want to go past the area and turn around so you are parking correctly and facing the proper way.

The trail is marked with a red pole or stake at the beginning which is viewable from the road or where you park. From Dairy Road, the trail starts with a slight hill going upwards. Once you go up the little hill, the trail is flat. The trail is about as wide as a vehicle. Although, the trail pretty much runs along Rt. 309, it is hidden by a dense amount of trees and makes for a great hiking or biking adventure.

Here are some pictures to give you a better look of the Lehigh and New England Trail in Tamaqua, PA.

The Lehigh and New England Trail looking towards the intersection of Rt. 443 and Rt. 309 along Dairy Road.

The Lehigh and New England Trail where it starts from Dairy Road. A slight hill until the top which then is all flat.

The Lehigh and New England Trail marker which sits to the right when you reach the top of the small entrance hill off Dairy Road.

A picture of the trail about 1/10 mile in. It runs north alongside Rt. 309.