PittsburghLIVE.com has a story about an obscure but amazing law in Pennsylvania. Apparently, doctors in Pennsylvania are required to notify the PA Department of Transportation if they have a patient that has been diagnosed with a condition that could impair his ability to drive.

Despite everything you may have assumed about doctor-patient confidentiality, if a patient is dignosed with certain conditions, the doctor must notify the state. This may make sense if a person is diganosed with epilepsy, or sudden blindness, but what about alcoholism?

PhillyNews has a story (subscription required) about a guy who told his doctor that he drank half a dozen beers a day, and the doctor decided that his drinking was an alcoholic condition and notified PennDOT. Without a trial, without a single ticket, without breaking a single law, the state took this man’s drivers license.

So much for due process…