Let’s say you were out on a night on the town with your friends or significant other. Being pulled over on during a DUI checkpoint can be incredibly stressful for those involved. For many people, this may be their first experience with authorities looking for people suspected of driving while intoxicated or (DUI). As you see the lights flashing, you may have doubts about what is taking place and what you will say to police officers. Salt Lake City drunk driving defense lawyer Christopher Ault of The Ault Firm is here to talk about Utah’s breath analyzer test guidelines, and what could happen should you reject to take a breathalyzer test.
Is it Illegal to Decline a Breath Examination in Utah?
When pulled over, police officers may ask you if you’ve had anything to drink; they may even say they can smell alcohol on your breath. They may request that you perform a sobriety examination to check your coordination, and so forth. One of the various tools they regularly utilize is a breathalyzer to perform a blood alcohol level test. Drivers may have several reasons why they do not want to perform a test of this nature. This is especially true in Utah’s home state, where we currently have the lowest legal BAC levels in the nation.
In some states, breathalyzer outcomes are not utilized in court as evidence. Those states need blood tests or boosted chemical breath tests. Nonetheless, in Utah, the mobile breath test kits– generally referred to as “breath analyzers”– can usually be used as proof against you. As a result of this, Utah has stringent laws on the refusal of a police officer’s request to perform a mobile BAC test.
In Utah, it is an independent criminal activity to decline a breathalyzer examination. If you have not been arrested, authorities have no right to order you to take a breath test without a warrant. This implies that, according to this policy, you have no right to decline a breath test since you currently consented to it. The justification for this law is Utah’s “implied consent” law. Under Utah Code § 41-6a-520, by driving in the State of Utah, you are “considered to have given … consent to a chemical test or tests of [your] breath, blood, urine, or oral fluids for the purpose of determining” intoxicated driving. So by operating a vehicle on Utah’s roads, you have already given consent to a BAC test.
Charges for Declining a Breath Analyzer Test in Utah
Police officers are supposed to provide you with a list of penalties that can happen to you should you decline a breath test. These penalties include prospective driving license suspension, driving probation, and ignition interlock penalties associated with a DUI conviction. Once they have established that you are making an informed decision, you can face these penalties:
- Immediately losing your license;
- Facing 5 or 10 years of driving probation, where it will be illegal to drive with any detectable amount of alcohol in your system; and
- A required three-year period where you must go with an “ignition interlock,” which will not allow your car to start until it accepts a clean breath test.
Do I have to be Arrested?
In many cases, it is only illegal to refuse a breathalyzer once you have been officially arrested. When authorities apprehend you for a crime, they are allowed to search you (including your pockets as well as bags). This might produce proof of another crime. Together with this search, police might perform a breathalyzer examination. This fits with Utah’s Implied Consent Law, where a breath analyzer can just be used after an apprehension. Police may give you a chance to prove you are not drunk by providing a test result before being arrested. If you are indeed sober, this could clear things up quickly. However, because you can still be charged for DUI, even if you are below the “legal limit,” you should not accept a breath test until legally required to do so.
Salt Lake City DUI Defense Law Firm
Utah’s drunk driving laws do not allow you to contact an attorney, doctor, or any other person before either accepting or refusing a breathalyzer test. This suggests you must collect as many details about your rights and responsibilities before being pulled over for a believed DUI. Call Salt Lake City criminal defense attorney Christopher Ault today for any questions or concerns about driving while intoxicated or breath test refusals. If you were currently charged with DUI, The Ault FIrm might be able to help battle your situation, obstacles, and test results. For a complimentary appointment, telephone call 801-987-8409 today.