States have different laws regarding driving under the influence (DUI) checkpoints. Many states have passed implied consent laws, which prevent people suspected of driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol from refusing to take blood, breath, or urine tests to determine blood alcohol content (BAC). Ohio is no different.
In a DUI checkpoint, an officer will stop your car and ask you a few questions to determine your sobriety. The only questions you are required to answer regard identification, insurance, and registration of the vehicle. A police officer may ask you other questions, but you are not obliged to answer them.
Ohio DUI Checkpoint Law
If you are driving on roads maintained by the state of Ohio, you are legally obligated to submit to a blood, breath, or urine test to determine your BAC. If a police officer asks you to submit to these tests, you can’t refuse without consequences. If you refuse, your license will be suspended for 1 year for the first offense. If you refuse a 2nd or 3rd time, your license will be suspended for 2 or 3 years, respectively. Even if you were not driving, merely sitting in the driver’s seat, you could still be arrested. Being in control of a vehicle means being in the driver’s seat with the keys, even if they are not in the ignition.
An officer is not obligated to tell you of the penalties for refusing a test. Likewise, if you have been convicted of a DUI 2 or more times within 6 years of your last offense, the officer can use any reasonable means to make you take any chemical test; however, he or she must tell you this before asking you to take one.
Once you submit to the BAC test, you have the right to have a medical professional of your choice take an additional test, which the officer should tell you. Likewise, the test must be taken within 2 hours of driving; otherwise, the test will be rendered invalid.
Likewise, if you are arrested for a DUI, you have the right to get help from an experienced Dayton DUI attorney. He or she can defend your rights and freedom in the event the police believe you are guilty of a DUI. Talk to one of the attorneys at L. Patrick Mulligan & Associates about your case. He or she can examine the details of your DUI arrest and determine whether or not your rights were violated.
Contact us at (937) 685-7006 or fill out our online form to schedule a free case consultation with us today.