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What Drivers Need to Know About Georgia’s Implied Consent Laws
Driving under the influence of alcohol or another impairing substance, such as prescription drugs, is a serious crime in Georgia and can result in significant consequences. Officers use chemical tests to determine if a driver has a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) that’s over the legal limit or has drugs present in their system. If a police officer suspects you are impaired, they may ask you to submit to one of these tests. But do you have the right to refuse? Like all other states, Georgia has an implied consent law, which affects whether you can say no to a chemical test and the potential consequences if you refuse.
What Is Georgia’s Implied Consent Law?
Georgia’s implied consent law states that anyone operating a vehicle in Georgia is already presumed to have given consent for a chemical test to determine whether they are driving under the influence of alcohol or another impairing substance. In this case, a chemical test refers to a blood, breath, or urine test. For DUI charges involving suspected alcohol use, Breathalyzer tests are the most commonly used.
For the implied consent law to apply, you must be under arrest for DUI or a related offense or have been involved in a traffic accident resulting in serious injuries or fatalities. If you aren’t yet under arrest and the officer simply requests that you take the test, you can technically refuse without penalty. However, it’s likely that the officer will then arrest you, and the implied consent law would apply. It’s also possible for law enforcement to get a warrant to do a blood test to determine your BAC level and whether any drugs are present in your system.
What Procedures Must an Officer Follow?
Officers must follow specific rules and procedures to ensure that they are upholding the law and respecting drivers’ rights. For example, officers are required to read the Implied Consent Notice to drivers before requesting that they submit to a chemical test. The exact language in this notice differs depending on the age of the driver, such as whether they are under or over the age of 21, and whether they have a traditional or commercial driver’s license.
Officers must also ensure that they have reasonable grounds for a DUI stop. They generally need reasonable suspicion that someone may be driving while impaired, such as driving erratically, swerving in and out of lanes, or violating traffic laws, such as speeding. In many cases, DUI charges arise from other traffic infractions where the officer found evidence of driving under the influence during the traffic stop.
Can You Still Refuse a Chemical Test?
While officers cannot compel you to submit to a chemical test without a warrant, and you have the legal right to refuse a test, there are significant consequences for doing so. You can still be charged with DUI even without a positive result on a chemical test, and your driver’s license will be automatically suspended for a period of one year. It’s essential to keep in mind that it’s possible to be convicted for DUI even if your BAC is below the legal limit on a chemical test, so refusing a test doesn’t necessarily help your case.
In most situations, it’s better to go ahead and submit to the test and then rely on an attorney to help you fight the results and charges later on.
What Are Some Potential Defenses for a High BAC Result?
DUI attorneys are intimately familiar with how chemical tests like Breathalyzers work and how to fight those results in court. There are several legal strategies an attorney can use if your test shows that you had a BAC over the legal limit, such as:
- Improperly administered test. Chemical tests must be administered correctly to ensure their accuracy. Breath tests, in particular, can be skewed if the proper procedures weren’t followed
- Faulty equipment. Breathalyzer machines must be routinely calibrated and maintained to ensure they are working correctly. The person who administers the test must also be trained to do so to ensure the equipment is used correctly
- False high reading. In some cases, a high BAC reading may be the result of something other than alcohol intake. For example, there are some medical conditions that can cause false positives on these tests, and some medications may also impact these readings
- Contaminated sample. Nearby chemicals can affect breath test results, and blood samples must be collected and stored correctly with a documented chain of custody to ensure they don’t get contaminated
In some cases, an attorney may also question the legality of the stop or point to violations in police procedure as reasons that the results of a chemical test should not be allowed into evidence. If the officer didn’t have reasonable suspicion for the stop, for example, this could result in the charges being dropped entirely.
What Steps Should You Take After a DUI Arrest?
When you’ve been arrested for driving under the influence, you need to take quick action to protect your driving privileges and your future. A DUI defense attorney can help you appeal the administrative license suspension within the 30-day timeline and immediately get to work on your DUI case. At Mones Law P.C., our attorneys have the experience to handle your case and do everything possible to fight your charges and avoid penalties like fines and jail time. Call our Atlanta office at (678)-616-2647 to get started. We offer free 60-minute consultations so you can learn how our office works and what we can do to help you.
