In Tennessee, people are aware that drunk drivers can be on the road at any time of day or night and at any season throughout the year. It is not only New Year’s Eve or other such times when people can be seriously injured or killed by intoxicated drivers who should never be behind the wheels of vehicles. Law enforcement officers continue to search for ways to curb this behavior and to nab those who choose to engage in it.
A new law has been proposed in Tennessee that at first glance seems to make life easier for drunk drivers. However, it actually may give law enforcement officers a leg up in their effort to find and arrest these people.
Currently, if a person chooses not to have their blood tested when asked by an officer who suspects they may be driving drunk, that driver may end up being charged with a misdemeanor crime. The new bill would change that and eliminate criminal charges for such refusals. The benefit to officers of doing this is that they may have an increased ability to then push for the chemical testing to be done since a Supreme Court decision in 2016 requires a search warrant for such testing if a person originally refuses.
While it remains to be seen if this bill will pass, drunk driving accidents may continue to happen. After they do, those involved might want to talk with a lawyer to see how they can get help.
Source: WBIR.com, “Bill would remove criminal charge for refusing blood test for DUI,” Grant Robinson, April 2, 2018