A drunken-driving conviction in Pennsylvania can result in thousands of dollars in fines, suspension or revocation of driving privileges, imprisonment, loss of employment and increased insurance costs.

If you have been charged with Driving Under the Influence or DUI, it is important that you retain an experienced attorney to help minimize the potential penalties--particularly those that would reduce your ability to maintain employment or earn a living.

Pennsylvania is dramatically increasing its prosecution of drunken driving, which causes thousands of accidents and hundreds of deaths in the commonwealth each year.

Having a respected, knowledgeable and experienced attorney on your side will enable you to effectively defend yourself against the charges.

Here are some Frequently Asked Questions about DUI in Pennsylvania:

This is my first offense, will I get off easy?

Not necessarily. If you are found to be highly intoxicated, or to have caused an accident with injuries or property damage, you can face fines of up to $5,000, a six-month jail term and loss of your driver's license for one year.

What if I can prove I only had two beers?

DUI laws are not based on the number of drinks you have. They are based on the level of intoxication observed by law-enforcement officers and/or by the results of tests of blood-alcohol levels in your blood.

Why can't I just plead guilty, then use a friend or relative's address in a neighboring state to get another driver's license to use while my Pennsylvania license is suspended?

Beside the fact that you would be committing fraud, you should also know that Pennsylvania is part of a compact of more than 40 states that share information on drunken-driving convictions to ensure that multiple drivers licenses cannot be obtained by a single individual.

I submitted to a breathalyzer or blood-alcohol test. Was that dumb?

No, anyone operating a motor vehicle in Pennsylvania has, under the law, given his or her consent to a blood-alcohol test (BAT) if suspected of drunken driving.

Failure to submit to such testing will result in an automatic one year suspension of driving privileges. Any suspension of driving privileges resulting from conviction on drunken-driving charges will be added on top of the suspension for refusing to be tested.

Generally, it is best to submit to the BAT and make your case in court with your attorney.