Facing a DUI charge in Indiana can be an overwhelming experience. Should you cooperate with the police? What if you’re being offered a chemical test? As any experienced Indiana DUI lawyer will tell you, refusing a chemical test is never going to improve your situation.
This blog will break down Indiana’s rules regarding implied consent and chemical test refusals, the potential impact on your driver’s license, and the importance of speaking to an Indiana DUI lawyer as soon as possible.
Understanding the Concept of Implied Consent
A person who operates a vehicle impliedly consents to submit to the chemical test provisions laid out in the Indiana Code as a condition of operating a vehicle in Indiana. In other words, the act of operating a vehicle means you’ve already agreed to submit to a chemical test offered by a law enforcement officer. As every Indiana DUI lawyer knows, this law applies to everyone who drives in the State of Indiana.
The law allows police to offer a person more than one chemical test, and a person must submit to each chemical test offered by a law enforcement officer in order to comply with the implied consent provisions. The exact same standard applies in DUI cases involving serious injury or death. Refusing a chemical test—and refusal can mean anything short of active cooperation with police—triggers significant consequences for your driver’s license.
The Effects of a Chemical Test Refusal
Refusing to submit to a chemical test earns you an automatic suspension of your driving privileges. Your first refusal suspension will be for one year, while each subsequent refusal will result in an administrative suspension that lasts for two years.
If the case involves serious bodily injury or death, refusal to submit to a portable breath test or chemical test offered by law enforcement is a Class C infraction, carrying a maximum fine of $500. If you have at least one prior DUI conviction, the refusal is a Class A infraction, carrying a maximum fine of $10,000.
In either scenario, you’ll need to carry SR22 for three years following the termination of the suspension. If at any time during the three years following the termination of the refusal suspension you fail to maintain the SR22, the BMV will suspend your driving privileges until the SR22 is reinstated.
Click here to read more about chemical test refusals in Indiana.
