Rehman

Plaintiff Atiqur Rehman filed a petition for a writ of mandate seeking an order directing defendant Department of Motor Vehicles (the department) to rescind its suspension of his driver’s license because, with a blood-alcohol content of 0.04 percent or more, he drove a vehicle that requires a commercial driver’s license. (Veh. Code, § 13353.2, subd. (a)(3).) The trial court denied the petition.

On appeal, Rehman contends that while the department can immediately suspend the driver’s license of a person who, with a blood-alcohol content of 0.04 percent or more, drives a vehicle that requires a commercial driver’s license, the department cannot sustain an order of suspension following an administrative hearing unless the person had a blood-alcohol content of 0.08 percent or more. (§ 13557, subd. (b)(2)(C)(i).)

We agree with the trial court that this is one of the rare instances in which we must disregard the literal terms of a statute because they conflict with another statute and would compel an absurd result that the Legislature obviously did not intend. Accordingly, we conclude that a blood-alcohol content of 0.04 percent or more was sufficient both to suspend Rehman’s…