|
Bucks County residents are fortunate to be close to some of the best professional resources in the United States today. Steven E. Kellis, a graduate of Villanova Law School and Bucknell University is a prominent PA DUI Attorney. If you are arrested for DUI in Pennsylvania, penalties are rigorous: if you are over 21 (legal drinking age) and you blood alcohol level is .08 or higher you are considered to be DUI. You may also be convicted at a lower BAC rate if you are driving erratically. If you are under 21 BAC is .02 or greater.
Just by being licensed in Pennsylvania you have agreed to chemical testing. If you refuse to have one or more tests for breath, blood or urine, your license will be suspended for one year. This is in additional to penalties for the DUI offense. Even if you are found not guilty of DUI and have refused the test, your license will be suspended for one year. A two and a half year suspension may result if you refuse to take the test and you are determined to be DUI, depending on your BAC level at the time of arrest. If you refuse testing and have a prior DUI conviction you will receive an eighteen month suspension for refusal plus eighteen more months for DUI. A first offense results in 6 months probation, a $300 fine, and no suspension. A second offense results in 5 days to 6 months in prison, a $300 to $2500 fine, and a 12 month suspension. A third offense brings 10 days to 2 years in prison, a $500 to $5000 fine, and a 12 month suspension.
Penalties increase the higher your blood alcohol, the more serious injuries
and damages resulting from driving while impaired, and the more times you are convicted. Second and third offenders must have an ignition interlock system installed for one year. You may have to attend alcohol abuse screening and treatment. A judge may also order 150 hours of community service.
There are more severe penalties for those with a higher BAC. In order to know your rights as a victim of an accident or as an individual charged with DUI, you need to consult the best attorney in Bucks County, and that attorney is Steven E. Kellis.
Want to Know More About Bucks County?
Bucks County was established by William Penn as one of the three original counties in Pennsylvania. It was named for Buckinghamshire, Penn’s ancestral home in England. Penn lived in Bucks County, at Pennsbury Manor. It was here on Christmas Day in1776 that George Washington prepared his troops to cross the Delaware and attack Trenton. Their success marked the turning point in the American Revolution. Washington Crossing National Park commemorates this event.
Bucks County is bounded on the northwest by Lehigh County, by Northampton on the north, Philadelphia County on the south and Montgomery County on the west, and the Delaware River on the east. Doylestown is the county seat. Northern Bucks County is noted for its lovely scenery, farms and popular tourist attractions: the shops and studios of New Hope, Washington Crossing Historic Park and Peddler’s Village. Bucks County has become a haven for artists and writers who work in the New York area. James Michener lived there, as well as Pearl Buck, Stephen Sondheim, Oscar Hammerstein II and Moss Hart, to name only a few. Lower Bucks County has two large shopping malls: Neshaminy Mall and Oxford Valley Mall, as well as Sesame Place theme park.
Serious housing development started in the 1950s with the construction of Levitttown. Before too long the county became a preferred residential area for Philadelphians and New Yorkers who preferred country living. By the 1990s loss of land in Lower Bucks had stabilized development, but redevelopment has proliferated. Developers have purchased abandoned buildings along the river for luxury housing. Central and Upper Bucks are still seeing growth. Other population centers are Bensalem, Bristol, Fairless Hills, Neshaminy, Perkasie, Quakertown, Sellersville, Trevose, Warminster and Yardley.
The largest industries in the county are services to buildings and developments, eat-in restaurants and health care. A large number of residents commute to the Philadelphia or New York areas or cross the river to New Jersey.
|
|
