Refusal of Frederick DUI Testing 

Sobriety test scores are very important for DUIs. An alcohol-related test can be done by a breathalyzer or by a blood sample. A person can refuse these tests, but they should understand that refusing sobriety tests can come with consequences. To learn more, contact a skilled Frederick DUI lawyer today.

Impact on a Driver’s License

A refusal of Frederick DUI tests renders the same consequences in Maryland which is a suspension of a person’s privilege to drive. This can be modified by way of requesting a hearing or participating in the ignition interlock program.

Implied Consent

Implied consent means that a person has consented to participate in sobriety testing by a police officer if the officer has reasonable grounds to conduct that test. If they refuse to participate in that then they suffer consequences automatically. It does not matter whether they were under the influence or were not under the influence of something at the time. The simple fact that they refused is a violation of the implied consent law, which then yields penalties as appropriate from the Motor Vehicle Administration.

Challenging Consent

Implied consent laws would be applied across the board but often times, for example in a refusal case, a person’s ability to participate in a particular alcohol concentration test might be due to things other than their simple will or desire to refuse the test. A refusal of Frederick DUI testing might be exercised by a person because of a medical necessity—for example, they have a lung issue, which keeps them from being able to blow into a device. They might have refused the breathalyzer test because they simply could not, medically speaking, take that test.

Other times where a refusal might be something that is marked but is not necessarily actually a refusal per se might be in a scenario where a person tried several times to take a breathalyzer test but was giving insufficient samples. Even though they were not being evasive, the result that kept coming up was insufficient, meaning that the officer marked the matter as a refusal but it was a refusal by construction as opposed to a refusal by willfulness or desire. In those cases, the implied consent law can be challenged in terms of penalties that were seeking to be imposed by the Motor Vehicle Administration for refusal of a particular test.

First Time Refusal

If a person refuses a Frederick DUI test, then the Motor Vehicle Administration can seek a suspension of their privilege to drive for nine months for the first time and that would mean that the person would not be permitted to drive.

Refusing Multiple Times

The second or third time a person refuses to take a Frederick DUI test, they would face lengthier suspensions of their privilege to drive and, in some cases, beyond three or four times could be a revocation of somebody’s privilege to drive altogether.

Enrolling in Alcohol Education Course

A person would probably need to enroll in an alcohol or DUI course regardless of whether they refused or did not refuse based on the advice of their attorney, but that would not be something that the Motor Vehicle Administration would order. That would be something that would be ordered in criminal proceedings by the court.

Reasons for Refusing Breath Test

Medical issues are very common and justifiable reasons for refusing a chemical breath test. Other reasons might be language issues. For example, somebody not understanding the instructions, their rights before they take a breathalyzer test, or the right to not be explained to them properly are all proper arguments that a refusal of breathalyzer test was not a violation of the implied consent law.

Reasons for Refusing Blood Test

Refusing a blood test could be justified by a person’s medical necessity for refusing the blood test, not being properly advised of their rights, or not getting a full understanding of their rights when they are offered the opportunity to take a blood test. These are arguments as to the implied consent law and why it should not necessarily be applied to a refusal under the circumstances.