When Ohio residents get pulled over for drunk driving, law enforcement officials may ask drivers to take field sobriety tests. Some drivers may not want to perform these tests. However, it is important to understand that some of the tests may not be optional.
There are different kinds of tests law enforcement may ask drivers to perform. FindLaw says that law enforcement officials might ask a person to take a blood test. People do not always need to agree to take this test. This is because the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2016 that when a driver gets pulled over for drunk driving, he or she is not obligated to take a blood test.
Sometimes law enforcement might ask a driver to perform coordination tests. There are three different kinds of tests someone might need to take. These are the one-leg stand test, the walk-and-turn test and the horizontal gaze nystagmus. All of these tests examine how impaired a driver is. However, people do not always need to perform these tasks.
Many drivers may be most familiar with the Breathalyzer test. According to FindLaw, Breathalyzer tests are usually not optional. This is because certain aspects of driving fall under implied consent laws. This means that when people get a driver’s license, they essentially agree to take a Breathalyzer test when law enforcement pulls them over for drunk driving. Some people may face serious consequences if they refuse to take a Breathalyzer test. Although law enforcement may not arrest people, someone may have his or her license suspended for up to a year.