Repeater
Regular Member
Certainly authoritarian U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is pushing the program:
This Virginia Beach personal injury law firm considers whether such a program will be implemented in Virginia:
Will “No Refusal” Policy for Suspected Drunk Drivers Make Its Way to Virginia?
A Richmond TV station discusses the idea:
Drivers giving blood under DUI "No Refusal" Policy?
The problem is, this is exactly the kind of 'program' that allows the police to get into your business, including opportunities for frisks, searches, and gun seizures.
This could even happen to drivers who carry but who are not drinking or under the influence. If the LEO asks for a breath test, can you afford to say no? What if the LEO then asks for consent to search for alcohol, drugs, ... or weapons? Can you still afford to say no?
If any Virginia locality announces such a program, please let us know.
"We know that refusing a breathalyzer is a persistent, ongoing problem," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "There's a loophole here."
LaHood said the federal government is advising law officers to use a search warrant to quickly obtain a blood test from drivers who have refused to take a breath test.
"We know people are going to try and find ways to get out of very bad, dangerous behavior," he said, "and we're not going to let that happen."
This Virginia Beach personal injury law firm considers whether such a program will be implemented in Virginia:
Will “No Refusal” Policy for Suspected Drunk Drivers Make Its Way to Virginia?
The federal government is urging more states to consider implementing the “no refusal” policy. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said, "These are not new laws or regulations. They are efforts to streamline existing procedures while protecting due process to ensure that drunk drivers can't skirt the consequences of their actions."
So will this policy make its way to Virginia (VA)? No one knows for sure. Critics of the policy believe that not allowing people to refuse a Breathalyzer violates their constitutional rights and raises questions about how the blood drawn from the suspected drunk driver is handled.
These are legitimate concerns that will need to be addressed if more states, including VA, decide to adopt some version of this policy.
A Richmond TV station discusses the idea:
Drivers giving blood under DUI "No Refusal" Policy?
The no refusal policy would allow police to get a search warrant from on-call judges so they can take blood samples from suspected drunk drivers who refuse breathalyzers.
"I think it's a great idea because I know you don't drink and drive and neither do I," said M.A.D.D. spokesperson, Carter Hill.
"If I was stopped by a police officer I'd gladly give him a field sobriety test or a breath test," said Hill.
The problem is, this is exactly the kind of 'program' that allows the police to get into your business, including opportunities for frisks, searches, and gun seizures.
This could even happen to drivers who carry but who are not drinking or under the influence. If the LEO asks for a breath test, can you afford to say no? What if the LEO then asks for consent to search for alcohol, drugs, ... or weapons? Can you still afford to say no?
If any Virginia locality announces such a program, please let us know.