Can you refuse a breathalyzer in SC if you’re pulled for DUI? Here’s what the law says

You’ve just left a delicious meal in your favorite restaurant, tooling down the road toward home.

Then, in your rear view mirror you see blue lights.

Uh-oh. Did the two martinis and the wine with dinner push you over South Carolina’s legal BAC level of .08?

You have two choices when the officer asks you to take a breathalyzer test. You can submit. Or you can refuse.

Yes, state law says you can tell the officer you’re not going to do it.

In fact, 41% of the 19,152 people asked to take the test refused to do so, Ryan Alphin of the State Law Enforcement Division said.

That’s 8,026 people.

SLED maintains the breath test machines and collects data on their use. The agency has 154 instruments and operates 109 test sites around the state.

But there’s a complication for people who refuse the test. You will lose your license for six months.

How is that fair? You’re not convicted of anything.

South Carolina has an implied consent law, which means that when you choose to drive on the state’s road you agree to a test if asked and the officer has probable cause to stop you, such as weaving or other erratic driving. Interestingly, one sign of impaired driving is not only going too fast but also too slow.

Sonny Collins of the South Carolina Highway Patrol said a new section of the law allows for a person to get the suspension lifted if they agree to put an interlock device on their car.

The device, about the size of a cell phone, registers alcohol in the blood through a breath test.

Too high and the car will not start.

You may contest the suspension if you act within 30 days. You may also get a limited license to go to work or the store.

Refusing to take a breath test is admissible in court to prove guilt.

The six-month driver’s license suspension would be in addition to whatever punishment you get if convicted of driving under the influence, Collins said.

The penalties for DUI in South Carolina range from six-month suspension and $400 for first offense to $6,300 and two-year suspension for a fourth. Any offenses beyond that and a person could be sent to prison and lose their license permanently.

This story was originally published August 30, 2023 at 6:30 AM.