Quote:
Originally Posted by Rick Lee
Now, the interesting thing would be how they treat an unlicensed driver or someone who's driving on a suspended and is suspected of DUI. Is such a person then still bound by implied consent? Seems to me, they could not be punished for refusal (in a state where refusal is just a DMV administrative issue) because they either don't have a license, which means they didn't sign onto implied consent, or their suspended license means they no longer have any privileges to be taken away or an in-force promise to give a chemical test.
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I can only speak to California law, but I'd bet other states are similar.
The California law states,
"23612. (a) (1) (A) A person who drives a motor vehicle is deemed to have given his or her consent to chemical testing of his or her blood or breath for the purpose of determining the alcoholic content of his or her blood, if lawfully arrested for an offense allegedly committed in violation of Section 23140, 23152, or 23153."(underlined emphasis, mine.)
In other words, not having a license does not release you from implied consent, nor the punishments which include fines, as well as license suspensions. Since the person had no license to suspend, that would be moot but they would then face violations related to driving without a license which are more severe than a mere suspension.