Georgia Implied Consent

As a licensed driver in the state of Georgia, you are required to abide by certain laws. One of those is known as Implied Consent. Unless you are ever involved in a DUI investigation, you are probably completely unaware of this law. However, this is a law that you actually agreed to as part of your driver’s license paperwork.

When you are a licensed driver, you are impliedly consenting to submit to a chemical test (blood, breath or urine) during a DUI investigation. Probable cause must exist in order to begin a DUI investigation, and if officers suspect you of driving under the influence, they will ask you to submit to a chemical test.

If you agree to take a chemical test and you are over the state’s limit of .08%, you will be arrested for DUI. However, what happens if you refuse to take the test? If you deny taking a chemical test, a police officer will still arrest you for DUI, as the state views this refusal as a conscious acknowledgement of guilt. During your arrest, the police officer must read you the Implied Consent Warning.

The laws are different for drivers under 21 and commercial drivers, yet they all have one thing in common: the penalties for refusing a chemical test are severe. The point of the Implied Consent Warning is to inform you that refusing a chemical test will result in the suspension of your license for 1 year. The state makes the penalty for refusing a chemical test severe because they want to encourage drivers to submit to test. This is so that they can gain evidence against you—evidence that they can later present in front of a judge or jury.

If you were recently arrested for DUI because you were in violation of the Georgia Implied Consent Law, please contact The Law Office of Larry Kohn. There are always defenses in a DUI case because the prosecution bears the burden of proof. Police officers are also required to follow procedures and if there were mistakes made, your rights may have not been protected.