Can I report a dangerous driver in Pennsylvania while they are still on the road?

Call 911. Pennsylvania publishes no separate patrol code.

It already happened — who takes the report?

The non-emergency line of your local Pennsylvania police, plus one more channel in section 2.

In danger right now? Call 911. Do not use this site or the app while you are driving.

Reporting a bad driver in Pennsylvania

Checked 13 September 2026 · 7 sources · Jerk Alert LLC’s 51-location study

Active dangerCan I report a dangerous driver in Pennsylvania while they are still on the road?: Call 911.
Pennsylvania publishes no separate patrol code.Details in section 1
Recent IncidentIt already happened — who takes the report?: The non-emergency line of your local Pennsylvania police, plus one more channel in section 2.Details in section 2
Licence reviewCan I report a dangerous driver to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation?: Yes — citizens can report dangerous driversDetails in section 3

Look up a Pennsylvania plate

See whether other drivers have filed reports against a plate.

A plate with no reports comes back clean — that is the common result, and it is not an error.

Avoidance & safety rules

Do not follow or pursue the vehicle, under any circumstances.
Do not try to read or photograph the plate if doing so means getting closer or driving unsafely.
Do not engage. No gestures, no eye contact, no reply to an aggressive driver.
Keep your distance and let them pass. Pull over somewhere public before you make a call, or have a passenger call.
Note details only if it is safe: make, model and colour, full or partial plate, direction of travel, and the exact location or mile marker.

Does a Jerk Alert report reach the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation? No — Jerk Alert filings are community records between drivers. They never reach the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, any other government body, or law enforcement, and they do not replace the calls in sections 1 and 2. If you are in danger, call 911. The Terms prohibit following, approaching, or identifying another driver on any Jerk Alert platform.

Pennsylvania bad driver reporting & safety guide

1. If it is happening now immediate danger

Emergency hotlines

911 — for a driver who is an active danger to other people right now. That is a police matter, and no app is a substitute for the call.
No Pennsylvania-specific line is listed here. We publish a patrol code only when a state police or DOT page carries it.

2. Reporting to Pennsylvania law enforcement after the fact

Neither the hotlines above nor anything in this section is the licence-review route in section 3, and nothing filed on Jerk Alert reaches any of them.

Who takes the report in Pennsylvania

The non-emergency line of the Pennsylvania municipal police department, or the Pennsylvania State Police where there is no local force with jurisdiction where it happened takes reports of dangerous driving that has already happened.
Bring: the plate (full or partial) and state, the vehicle’s make, model and colour, the location, the date and time, the direction of travel, and what you saw.
Expect a record rather than a ticket. An officer who did not witness the driving usually cannot cite for it, and what each agency acts on varies.

One more channel, for state-owned vehicles only

If the plate you saw begins or ends with “PA”, it is a Commonwealth of Pennsylvania fleet vehicle, and the Department of General Services runs its own “Unsafe Driving, Improper Use, State Vehicle Report Form” (dgs.internet.state.pa.us/VehicleNotice). In the Bureau of Vehicle Management's words, it is “to be used only for vehicles that have a license plate number beginning or ending with PA”. It asks for the vehicle's plate, make, model and colour, the location, date and time, and your comments; your name and contact details are optional. It is a fleet-management channel, not a fitness-to-drive review.

3. State DMV & licensing agency review

Public reporting accessYes — citizens can report dangerous drivers

By letter — Pennsylvania publishes no citizen form. You write to the unit below.

Who can file: Any member of the public, by signed letter — PennDOT's safety and mature-driver guidance says so. Form DL-13 is the health care provider's form, not yours.

Administrative fitness process

Agency: Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
Unit: Bureau of Driver Licensing — Driver Qualifications Section (PennDOT's Medical Unit)
Where to send: PennDOT, Bureau of Driver Licensing, Driver Qualifications Section, P.O. Box 68682, Harrisburg PA 17106-8682
Contact: Medical@pa.gov · fax (717) 705-4415 · Medical Unit (717) 787-9662 (printed on form DL-13) · PennDOT Customer Call Center 717-412-5300, Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

What information do I need to report a driver?

A signed written letter to the Bureau of Driver Licensing's Medical Unit is accepted — mail it to the post office box below.
Identify the driver as PennDOT asks: full name, date of birth, and home address or Social Security number.
Describe the specific medical condition, cognitive impairment or unsafe driving behaviour you observed.

DL-13 (Initial Reporting Form) is a HEALTH CARE PROVIDER form — PA law requires physicians and others authorised to diagnose or treat to report to PennDOT.

Will the driver find out who reported them?

PennDOT states that your report will remain anonymous to the individual you are reporting — but you must sign it and provide your name and contact information in case there are follow-up questions. Its medical-reporting guidance, which is written for reporting health care personnel, says reports submitted to PennDOT are confidential and used solely to determine whether the person is qualified to drive, and that PennDOT is compelled by law to honour that provision and will not release information regarding the source or content of the report, even when the inquiry is from the patient.

75 Pa.C.S. § 1518(f) says no civil or criminal action may be brought against any person or agency for providing the information required under this system — the reports § 1518(b) requires of physicians and others authorised to diagnose or treat. Pennsylvania publishes no immunity for a member of the public who writes in voluntarily, and PennDOT's own answer to "what is my liability if I do or do not report" is addressed to those mandatory reporters, not to a witness.

What can the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation do after a report?

The receipt of a report triggers an evaluation process, in which the Medical Unit checks the reported concerns against Pennsylvania's medical driving standards in 67 Pa. Code ch. 83.
On the information submitted, restrictions on the person's driving privilege may be added or deleted, their licence may be recalled or restored, they may be asked to provide more specific medical information or to complete a driver's examination, or no action may be taken.
PennDOT may notify the driver that they must undergo a formal medical evaluation by a licensed health care provider within a set time, and may require a vision screening, a special knowledge test or a practical driving skills exam.
Under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1519, on the findings PennDOT may recall, suspend, cancel or restrict the operating privilege — for example to daylight driving only — or leave full driving status in place.

Statutory authority: 75 Pa.C.S. § 1518; 67 Pa. Code ch. 83.

What this route can and cannot do

A fitness-to-drive referral, not a bad-driving complaint: it is built around a medical, cognitive or physical condition and asks for the driver’s name and date of birth, which a plate number does not give you.