If you are pulled over by police in Ohio and asked to take a breathalyzer or any field sobriety tests, it’s in your best interest to refuse it whether you have been drinking or not. When law enforcement pulls a car over and believes that the driver is operating it under the influence of drugs or alcohol because of the typical bloodshot eyes, slurred speech or the officer smells alcohol, there will most likely be an arrest. First, remain polite and silent and be ready to call the best criminal defense attorney.

In the state of Ohio, law enforcement has two separate opportunities to give a driver an alleged OVI offender a breath test. The first is a portable breathalyzer test, in the police car and used during the stop. The second opportunity to test alcohol levels comes if there is an arrest and the driver is taken to the police station. This is where the Intoxilyzer 8000 will be implemented. The arresting officer will read the driver Ohio Form 2255
(Notice of Administrative License Suspension) and ask him to submit to a breath test.

In Ohio, you do have the option of refusing to take a police officer’s sobriety tests. However, if you do refuse, there are consequences. An individual who refuses a test can have their license taken away on the spot and a suspension begins immediately. Many people are frightened off from that, but on the other hand, not taking the tests keeps any evidence from being collected and used against you. It can be confusing, but everyone has a right to call an attorney, and at this point in the arrest it is the best time to reach out to a criminal defense attorney to get direction.

The Bottom Line: It is not a crime to refuse to submit to any testing. If there is even a slight possibility that you could test for any amount of alcohol, advice would be to not take the tests. If you blow over the limit, the prosecutor now has evidence that you were intoxicated and impaired. This evidence will be used against you in court during an OVI prosecution. If you blow under the legal limit, but still have some amount in your system, you will still be charged with an OVI and this information will be used against you in court as evidence that you were impaired. Refusal provides the prosecution with limited evidence in court. Call a criminal defense attorney. Keep Scott’s number in your phone and call him: 513.260.2099