DUI in Bradenburg: Do I Have To Take A Breathalyzer Test?
You might have friends who were pulled over, took a breathalyzer test and were promptly arrested and taken to jail for DUI in Bradenburg. Many people don’t think of refusing the breathalyzer until after getting arrested. Rather than figuring it out under the duress of a traffic stop, learn your rights and consequences now, before you need to decide.
Every state in the country, including Kentucky, allows you to refuse a breathalyzer request; however, there are also consequences for that refusal. Refusing the breathalyzer will not automatically prevent you from getting convicted of DUI either. The officer’s observations of your behavior, your field sobriety test scores, and other evidence will be used against you by the prosecutor.
Pursuant to Kentucky implied consent law, when you obtain your driver’s license you agree to submit to any field sobriety or chemical tests asked of you in the field. If an officer suspects you are under the influence, he or she can conduct an on-site investigation and you are expected to cooperate. In Bradenburg, if you have a blood alcohol level above 0.08%, you are presumed to be under the influence, or impaired, whether or not your driving ability is impaired.
An officer has the option of requesting that you take a portable breath test before you are arrested. This is used as part of the field sobriety assessment in determining whether or not to arrest you. The law does not require you to submit to this test before an arrest. If, however, the officer believes you are under the influence and arrests you, from that moment on you are under a legal obligation to take the test if asked or suffer the consequences of refusal. Many people don’t realize they have the right to talk to an attorney before deciding whether to comply with the test request. However, you only have a 10 to 15 minute window to get a hold of an attorney and ask what you should do.
Once you are under arrest, the officer is required to tell you that refusal of the test might be used against you in a future prosecution. You must also be informed that refusing the test will cost you your driver’s license for a period of time and that the court will not provide a hardship license. In addition, if you refuse the test and are still convicted of DUI, your jail sentence may be longer than it would have been had you taken the test. If, however, you submit to the test and your blood alcohol level is above 0.15% you are also facing an increased jail sentence.
In Bradenburg, the length of time your license is suspended for refusing a chemical test depends on whether you have refused one in the past. For the first offense, your license is suspended for up to 120 days. If within five years you refuse another test, your license will be suspended for 18 months and if it happens a third time your license will be taken away for two to three years. The fourth refusal causes a five year suspension.
In most cases, it is not advantageous to refuse a breathalyzer test in Bradenburg because your loss of license is mandatory and there may be increased jail time if you are ultimately convicted of DUI. To get the most favorable outcome after an arrest for DUI, speak with an attorney experienced in implied consent defense/DUI in Bradenburg.