A police officer pulls you over in North Carolina. You’re driving home from dinner, and the officer asks if you’ve had anything to drink with your meal. They believe that you are impaired. They then ask you to take a breath test.
At this point, you need to know what your options look like. The officer may certainly act like you have to comply and take the test because they’ve stopped you on suspicion of drunk driving. But are you actually obligated to do so?
How implied consent laws work
Like other states, North Carolina has implied consent laws. These essentially state that driving a vehicle on public roadways and possessing a driver’s license means that you consent to take a breath test during a lawful traffic stop. As long as the officer actually did have a valid reason to pull you over, you have essentially already said that you would submit to the chemical test.
However, the existence of this law does not mean that you can’t refuse the test. You still can. You do not have to take the breath test.
That said, there are ramifications if you refuse because you are violating the implied consent law. In North Carolina, a first refusal generally leads to a license suspension for one year. You may never be convicted on drunk driving charges, but you could still lose your license for 12 months just because you didn’t take the test when asked.
Losing a license can have a major impact on your life and your career, so it’s very important for you to understand what legal defense options you have at this time.