Does a person have a choice to refuse a required breath or blood test?

Yes! Our law provides that where the implied consent law is applicable, the person arrested for DWI may refuse to take the requested test. Such a refusal, however, can result in the following penalties:

1. suspension of your driving privileges for 90 days if this is your first arrest for DWI.

2. a 180 day suspension for a subsequent arrest if, in the first arrest you refused to submit to testing or had an alcohol concentration of .08 or greater,

3. a one year license suspension if you have a prior conviction for DWI; and,

4. the admission into evidence of your refusal to take the breath test in the subsequent DWI criminal trial. The purpose of this admission, from the prosecution's viewpoint, is to imply to the judge or jury, that the refusal was premised on the belief that the driver thought he was too intoxicated to pass the test.

If you do submit to alcohol concentration testing and fail, your driver's license privileges can be suspended, and the test result may come into evidence in the criminal trial. The possible suspension periods are as follows:

1. 60 days if your driving record shows no prior alcohol related arrests,

2. 120 days for two or more prior arrests without a conviction, and

3. 180 days if you have a prior conviction.