You’re driving along, when suddenly you see police lights flashing behind you. The next thing you know, you’ve got an officer at your window wanting to know if you’ve been drinking. Whether your answer to that question is “yes” or “no,” there’s a good chance that this scenario is going to play out with the officer in question asking you to take a breathalyzer test to determine your blood alcohol level. Of course, at this point you basically have two choices: You can either agree to allow the officer to administer the test, or you can refuse to take it. The question is: What should you do?
Elliot Wiesner is an attorney who has been defending New Jersey residents against DWI charges for over a decade, and he has a straightforward answer to this question: When it comes to New Jersey, if you are asked to submit to a breathalyzer test, then it would be downright foolish to refuse to do so. Why is this the case? While the rules are different in other states, New Jersey law dictates that by having a New Jersey driver’s license, you are automatically agreeing to submit to a breathalyzer test in the event that an officer feels that one should be administered. Any driver who tries to violate the “implied consent” inherent in a New Jersey driver’s license will be automatically charged with Refusal, which carries, substantially, the same penalties as a conviction of driving under the influence of alcohol.
The penalties for refusing to take a breathalyzer test certainly aren’t pretty. In addition to a hefty fine, a Refusal conviction in New Jersey will result in a suspended driver’s license, as would a DWI conviction. For first-time offenders, this means seven months to one year without a license; for seasoned offenders, the penalties are even harsher.
Given the repercussions involved in a lack of cooperation with the law, Elliot Wiesner emphasizes that whether you are actually guilty or not, it doesn’t make sense to refuse to take the test. In fact, if your blood alcohol level is actually within the legal limit, then a breathalyzer will only work to get you off the hook. By refusing to take the test if you know that you’re innocent, you’ll only be serving the purpose of digging yourself into an unnecessarily deeper hole. On the other hand, even if you are guilty, you still have nothing to lose by taking the test. All that the breathalyzer will do is confirm the officer’s initial suspicions and officially document your blood alcohol level. But given the penalties for refusal, it certainly won’t make your situation any worse. If anything, a good attorney might be able to argue that while you made a serious mistake, you were fully willing to cooperate with the officers who pulled you over. So you are therefore worthy of a degree of leniency in sentencing.
If you’ve got a New Jersey driver’s license and you happen to find yourself in the position of being asked to take a breathalyzer, then think twice before you say no. If you’re guilty, then you might as well do your part to not make things worse. And if you’re innocent, then get over your pride, take the test, and prove that officer wrong.
