Drunk driving is not a social problem, it is a crime. The biggest problem to the individual charged with DUI is that it is one of the few crimes where the primary evidence against you is provided by you, yourself and without your consent. This is done by your mannerisms at the time you're stopped, your speech pattern, field sobriety test, the breath test, and in the case of an accident sometimes a blood test.
That depends! Have you been drinking? If you haven't had a drop by all means take the test when asked. If you fail to do so you will be charged with refusal. Although it's not a crime to refuse there are civil consequences including loss of license. If you are definitely drunk, you might consider not taking the test. They will have to prove that you are drunk and they still might be able to without the test. You will lose your license and pay a civil fine, but if they can't prove you were drunk you will not be convicted of a crime.
If you tell the officer that you have had anything at all to drink then you will probably be asked to take a breath test. Therefore the answer is NO! If you are asked to take a breath test and it proves that you had been drinking then your answer didn't matter. If the officer persists, you should ask if you're under arrest. If the officer says no then you should be free to leave. If you are arrested, you have forced the officer into a premature arrest and weakened the case. Immediately ask for a lawyer.
Rhode Island has state mandatory minimum sentences. A first offense includes loss of license, fines, community service, attendence in a special course of driving while intoxicated, and a criminal conviction. Subsequent convictions can include jail time.
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Jan W. Head, Attorney At Law - 1345 Warwick Avenue - Warwick, RI 02888 - Tel: 401-463-9151