Virginia Implied Consent
Most people know that if you drive under the influence in Virginia, you can expect to lose your license. If you are asked to take a breath test to determine your blood alcohol content (BAC) and you fail, you might as well start memorizing the bus schedule.
What you might not know is that you can lose your license for refusing to take a chemical test. How is this possible?
This is due to “implied consent.” When you apply for a driver’s license, you have to sign a lot of documents. In the fine print, you agree to comply with a police officer’s requests when you are pulled over for a traffic stop. Part of this agreement is that you would take a breath, blood, or urine test if the officer believes that you are under the influence of alcohol.
When you are stopped by a law enforcement agent on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, he/she will read the implied consent notice to you and request that you take a breath, urine, or blood test to determine your BAC. A breath test can be performed at the scene or at a detainment center. However, a urine or blood test must be administered at a detainment center or medical facility.
While it is not against the law for you to politely decline to take a sobriety or chemical test, you will face the same administrative license suspension that a driver with a BAC of .08 percent faces. This license suspension will last seven days for a first offense or refusal, sixty days for a second offense, and until the trial date if this is a third offense.
Many DUI defense attorneys are against the implied consent law. They believe it is necessary for people to have a driver’s license in order to earn a living and lead a productive life, and therefore, unreasonable to put restrictions like the “implied consent” factor in the documents that a person must sign to obtain a driver’s license.
They also believe that implied consent goes against our Fifth Amendment right because it forces you to be a witness against yourself, which is exactly what you are doing if you are intoxicated and take a BAC test.
If your license has been suspended for refusing to take a chemical test in Virginia, you need an experienced attorney on your side. Fill out our convenient online form today.
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