The Appellate Division continued in relevant part: In the context of applying the enhanced penalties under N.J.S.A. 39:3-40 for driving while suspended for DWI, we previously determined in Cuccurullo that a defendant is “‘under suspension’ from the time that the suspension is imposed even though the period of suspension may not begin until later.” The defendant in Cuccurullo asserted that the enhanced penalties should not apply to him “because when he committed the present offense, his DWI suspension period had not begun and therefore he was not a ‘person . . . under suspension issued pursuant to N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.'” Ibid. (quoting N.J.S.A. 39:3-40(f)(2)). We disagreed, stating that “a person is ‘under suspension’ from the time that the suspension is imposed even though the period of suspension may not begin until later.”
We further observed: Were defendant’s argument accepted, the more unserved suspension time a driver has accumulated before his DWI suspension is imposed, the longer thereafter he could continue to drive before being subject to the driving while suspended statute’s enhanced penalties. We may not attribute to the Legislature an intent to produce such an absurd result.
We adopt here the rationale we utilized in Cuccurullo. We are unpersuaded by defendant’s argument that, essentially, he could only be convicted of violating N.J.S.A. 2C:40-26(b) beginning in the year 2027 for his most recent DWI because only then would his other non-DWI suspensions end and his already-imposed fourth DWI suspension commence. This argument would lead to an anomalous result and reward defendant for accumulating a multitude of other suspensions. We hold that when defendants drive while suspended for second or subsequent DWIs, they are subject to the penalties of N.J.S.A. 2C:40-26(b) during the pendency of any other suspensions until the actual completion of their DWI-related suspensions.
If the Court were to adopt the defendant’s position, he could essentially insulate himself from mandatory jail time by repeatedly having his license suspended for non-DWI offenses. Driving while suspended for a non-DWI suspension almost never results in jail time. A minimum of ten days in jail is mandatory even for a first offense of driving while suspended when a DWI is the basis for the suspension.
