Tennessee Counties Go “No Refusal” Over Labor Day Weekend
by
Douglas Troy Kans on Sep. 01, 2013
Summary: Tennessee officials initiate aggressive DWI enforcement to protect drivers on their roadways
Those out for a good time in Tennessee better brace themselves for a new and especially aggressive tactic by law enforcement officials designed to keep drunk drivers off the road. Tennessee motorists will not be allowed to refuse a blood test this weekend as officials with the Tennessee Highway Patrol announced that the agency would begin conducting special “no refusal” drunk driving stops starting this Labor Day weekend. The decision has sparked controversy in Tennessee and raised questions among residents about what exactly the campaign will entail.
The pilot program will be rolled out across 10 counties in the state and is happening for this first time this upcoming weekend. The campaign is based on a Tennessee law which went into effect on July 1st. The law prevents drivers from simply declining to submit to a chemical test to determine their blood alcohol concentration. Rather than a simple refusal followed by an automatic suspension of their driver’s license (thanks to the implied consent law), officers will now be able to quickly obtain search warrants to extract blood samples when they believe a driver is impaired.
In the case of refusal, the arresting officer will have to make a decision based on the driving behavior that led them to pull the drier over in the first place, their observations once the stop was made and other actions to determine if they believe that person is legally impaired. If the officer decides the driver is impaired, then they will arrest the person and apply for a search warrant after taking them to jail. Judges have agreed to be on call for the duration of the weekend campaign to ensure that search warrants are processed and signed quickly to allow for the blood draws.
To help bring in as many arrests as possible, the Tennessee Highway Patrol has said they will be engaged in an array of tactics to locate drunk drivers. The special enforcement this Labor Day weekend will include saturation patrols in certain high risks areas, bar checks and an abundance of sobriety checkpoints.
Proponents of the law claim that a “no refusal” approach will keep drunk drivers off the road and ultimately save lives. However, a number of civil rights groups have argued vehemently that law enforcement officers may be inclined to disregard important rights regarding searches. To have grounds for a search warrant justifying a blood test, an officer must first have sufficient facts that lead him or her to believe that a crime has been committed, and that important evidence will be lost without a judge’s consent to obtain a blood sample. These civil rights groups understandably worry that bias could cloud a police officer’s judgment and lead to improper warrants being executed on unsuspecting drivers.
The practice, which is new to Tennessee, already exists in other states including Texas. Though Texas typically only implements “no refusal” for special holiday weekends, some counties in the state have gone permanently “no refusal.” The trend is so new that little data exists about its effectiveness, though recent information shows that the number of drunk driving-related traffic accidents have actually increased since the law was implemented in some “no refusal” counties, far from achieving its intended goal.
Source: “Highway Patrol to conduct 'no refusal' DUI checks,” by The Associated Press, published at WATE.com.
The pilot program will be rolled out across 10 counties in the state and is happening for this first time this upcoming weekend. The campaign is based on a Tennessee law which went into effect on July 1st. The law prevents drivers from simply declining to submit to a chemical test to determine their blood alcohol concentration. Rather than a simple refusal followed by an automatic suspension of their driver’s license (thanks to the implied consent law), officers will now be able to quickly obtain search warrants to extract blood samples when they believe a driver is impaired.
In the case of refusal, the arresting officer will have to make a decision based on the driving behavior that led them to pull the drier over in the first place, their observations once the stop was made and other actions to determine if they believe that person is legally impaired. If the officer decides the driver is impaired, then they will arrest the person and apply for a search warrant after taking them to jail. Judges have agreed to be on call for the duration of the weekend campaign to ensure that search warrants are processed and signed quickly to allow for the blood draws.
To help bring in as many arrests as possible, the Tennessee Highway Patrol has said they will be engaged in an array of tactics to locate drunk drivers. The special enforcement this Labor Day weekend will include saturation patrols in certain high risks areas, bar checks and an abundance of sobriety checkpoints.
Proponents of the law claim that a “no refusal” approach will keep drunk drivers off the road and ultimately save lives. However, a number of civil rights groups have argued vehemently that law enforcement officers may be inclined to disregard important rights regarding searches. To have grounds for a search warrant justifying a blood test, an officer must first have sufficient facts that lead him or her to believe that a crime has been committed, and that important evidence will be lost without a judge’s consent to obtain a blood sample. These civil rights groups understandably worry that bias could cloud a police officer’s judgment and lead to improper warrants being executed on unsuspecting drivers.
The practice, which is new to Tennessee, already exists in other states including Texas. Though Texas typically only implements “no refusal” for special holiday weekends, some counties in the state have gone permanently “no refusal.” The trend is so new that little data exists about its effectiveness, though recent information shows that the number of drunk driving-related traffic accidents have actually increased since the law was implemented in some “no refusal” counties, far from achieving its intended goal.
Source: “Highway Patrol to conduct 'no refusal' DUI checks,” by The Associated Press, published at WATE.com.
