Drinking and driving is an
illegal offense
in each of the fifty states of this country. Because of the impaired state, your body endures when you are under the influence of alcohol, the
results of drinking and driving can be much worse than any consequences you may face. People’s lives are at stake when you decide to drive
under the influence of any drug that influences your judgement. With that being said, under any circumstances that you are pulled over and
asked to take a blood alcohol test and you refuse, the penalties that follow may include the following:
Suspension of License
Firstly, the state of South Carolina requires you to take a blood or alcohol test if arrested because of a DUI in cooperation with the state’s
Implied Consent law. In summary, this law suggests that if you are arrested by an officer who has probable cause to believe that you have been
driving under the influence that you consent to taking a test to determine your level of intoxication. Being that this law is implied, the
officer can recommend that you take any form of this test and penalties may be designated upon refusal. One of those penalties includes the
suspension of your license. The amount of time that your license is suspended varies on how many offenses you’ve had. After your first
offense, you will usually be served with a six-month license suspension. Although this seems like a small amount of time, this penalty is to
serve as a warning because each suspension following this one increases in intervals of three months. In the case of your second offense, you
will be issued a suspended license for approximately nine months. Following your third offense, your license will be suspended for a complete
year. This unfortunate disadvantage is put in place to teach deterrence in relation to drinking and driving.
Required to Pay Fines
For your first DUI conviction, a judge will most likely make you either serve thirty days in jail or require you to pay a fine that is usually
priced upward of four hundred dollars. Seemingly, this small price to pay for the risk and potential danger could stem from driving under the
influence. Depending on the judge and the severity of your case, a judge may give you the option of community service rather than jail time as
your penalty. With all of these consequences in consideration, a six-month suspension from your license seems like a reasonable punishment for
being convicted of a driving under the influence.
The consequences listed above are usually things that occur in the state of South Carolina because of driving while under the influence and
resisting a blood and alcohol test. These tests are designed to determine your true level of intoxication and prevent you from causing
unintentional harm to others or yourself while under the influence. Being a smart and safe drive benefits not only you but also other innocent
people who are on the road.
South Carolina divorce attorney Lauren Taylor practices family law in Charleston and Greenville. She graduated from the Charlotte
School of Law, and has been practicing for more than ten years.
Since the firm’s inception in 2012, Mrs. Taylor has helped hundreds of people navigate the uncertainties surrounding the family and
criminal court process.
She has cultivated a team that ensures each case has a strategy crafted specifically to the clients needs and desires.
Her commitment to top notch service has led her to open two additional offices in the low country where she now resides with her
husband Michael and her golden retriever, Buster.