Colorado’s
DUI statutes operate under an “expressed consent” law, which means
if an officer has enough reasonable doubt to suspect that you are driving
under the influence, you’ll be required to undergo a blood or breath
test after your arrest to determine the amount of alcohol in your system
(BAC). The test must be administered within 2 hours of when you last operated
a vehicle and you’ll be given the chance to choose which test you’d
like to take—once you choose, however, you can’t change your mind.
Before an arrest, the officer may also ask it you agree to take a preliminary
sobriety test. This test is typically used to establish the officer’s
probable cause that you’re driving under the influence. This test
is not mandatory and under no circumstances should you be forced to take
a preliminary test.
What if I refuse to take the BAC test?
There are a wide range of penalties for refusing to take a blood or breath
test following a DUI arrest, but an officer officer cannot force you to
take the test after your refusal. If your DUI incident led to the death
or injury to yourself or another individual, however, the officer can
physically restrain you to take the chemical test.
License suspension penalties for refusing to take a blood or breath test
can include:
- First offense: 12 month suspension
- Second offense: 2 year suspension with early reinstatement after 12 months
- Third offense: 3 year suspension with early reinstatement after 12 months
Contact a Trusted Colorado Springs DUI Lawyer
Refusing to take a mandatory blood or breath test won’t help your
case, but agreeing to the test is not a conviction. Regardless of the
test results, you should contact
The Samuelson Law Firm immediately after a DUI arrest to retain proper representation. Our DUI
defense attorney has more than 15 years of experience and is dedicated
to providing high quality legal service to clients during their time of crisis.
Call The Samuelson Law Firm today at (719) 941-1127 to begin building your DUI defense case.