THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
--a cost of $2 million and congest the court system," defense attorney Jay Norton said.
PAGE 18
THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SAFETY
Law aims to decrease drunk driving
ASHLEIGH LEE/KANSAN
A new law was passed on July 1 that no person can refuse a breathalyzer test .The law carries a $1,750 fine and an automatic one-year license suspension.
JESSICA TIERNEY editor@kansan.com
You can't refuse a breathalyzer test anymore, unless you want to pay $1,750.
On July 1, the Kansas Legislature enacted a new law criminalizing the refusal of taking a breath, blood or urine test when being pulled over with the suspicion of drunk driving.
Refusal can result in jail time and fine of up to $1,750 for first time offenders.
In addition, refusal of the test is an automatic one-year license suspension, along with another year of driving with an ignition interlock device.
Ignition interlock devices require drivers to pass a breathalyzer test before starting the car.
"What this new legislation would like to do is add thousands of more people to the county jail system at
Drunk driving is considered a serious offense in the state of Kansas for many reasons, but primarily because some drunk driving accidents are fatal.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2009, there were 10,839 fatalities alone resulting from alcohol-impaired driving.
The risk for college-age students is even higher.
This statistic accounts for 32 percent of all traffic-related deaths in the United States that year.
According to the same CDC statistics, 35 percent of drivers involved in fatal drunk driving accidents were between the ages of 21 and 24.
Kevin Cummings, a junior from Overland Park, was introduced to some of the strictest DUI laws in the country on a "normal Saturday
night" in April 2009.
What if I refuse the breathalyzer test?" he asked the police officer. The officer replied, "It's an automatic one-year driving suspension."
—Edited by Maegan Mathiasmeier