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Atlanta DUI
(ATLANTA) Today the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) announced the completion of a five month study of Georgia’s Implied Consent laws and released a package of recommended revisions designed to protect Georgia motorists from the deadly threat of impaired drivers on our highways. During a traffic stop, the Implied Consent Notice is given to any driver suspected of operating a vehicle while impaired by drugs or alcohol. Implied Consent informs motorists of their responsibilities under Georgia law when asked by an officer to provide a state administered chemical test that would objectively determine whether a driver is impaired or safe to drive.
However recent appellate court decisions interpreting Georgia’s Implied Consent laws have made it more confusing and difficult for law enforcement officers to obtain this critical evidence. “Consequently, many impaired drivers who are at risk of causing serious injuries and even death are manipulating statutory loopholes in Georgia law to avoid both criminal and civil sanctions,” said Director Bob Dallas of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. “Also at risk are Georgia’s law abiding motorists, pedestrians, and bikers who must then share our roads with drunk and drugged drivers.”
Georgia experienced an unexpected deadly climb in DUI fatalities during 2004 and 2005 after the state appellate court decisions. Department of Public Safety data shows that one-in-five suspected impaired drivers arrested by State Troopers in 2005 routinely refused to take state administered blood alcohol chemical tests.
To combat the growing threat to highway safety, GOHS empanelled a 25-member task force in August of 2005 to address legal concerns, identify substantive changes, and recommend fundamental restructuring of Georgia’s Implied Consent Law. Task Force representatives included Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, law enforcement, prosecutors, defense attorneys and members of the judicial, forensic and medical communities.
“The goal of the Task Force was to render the Implied Consent Notice effective in its original purpose while honoring the constitutional rights of impaired drivers in a manner that is fair both to the suspected impaired drivers and to the many victims of those drivers on Georgia’s highways,” said GOHS Director Dallas.
After five months of study, research and debate, the GOHS Task Force proposed changes to correct the limitations on chemical testing of impaired drivers under current Georgia law. The Task Force published these recommendations in its final report:
- Once a police officer has reasonable grounds to believe a driver is impaired, the Implied Consent process would be initiated to determine the driver’s blood alcohol level without having to first make an arrest.
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- When a suspected impaired driver refuses to be tested for alcohol or drugs a law enforcement officer would now have an opportunity to go before a judge to obtain a search warrant to perform blood alcohol chemical tests. This revision would put drunk drivers, especially those at risk of causing death and serious injury, in the same legal category as all other perpetrators of crime.
- Revisions include enhanced legal immunity for health care professionals who conduct state administered chemical tests for impaired driving.
- Another proposed revision would modify the language of the Implied Consent Notice to more accurately inform suspected impaired drivers of the consequences of their actions.
- Another important change would make the consequences of a law enforcement officer’s failure to properly inform a suspected impaired driver under Implied Consent applicable only to administrative hearings. “In other words, if an officer makes a technical mistake when reading the Implied Consent Notice, the results of the Blood Alcohol test would no longer be hidden from a jury considering their verdict at trial because of a technical glitch.” said Director Dallas.
In conjunction with the GOHS Task Force Report, additional revisions are proposed to further enhance the effectiveness of Georgia’s Implied Consent Law and DUI laws:
- The changes would reorganize Georgia’s DUI laws into a statutory format that is logical, easier to understand, and more practical to apply. Revisions would consolidate all areas of Georgia procedural law for obtaining, testing and admitting evidence of intoxication while operating a motor vehicle.
- Currently, depending on the circumstances of the driver, there are three different versions of the Implied Consent Law which Georgia law enforcement officers must choose to advise suspected impaired drivers. Included in the proposed changes is a revision to condense the language of the Implied Consent Notice into one uniform warning for all Georgia drivers.
Based on the work of GOHS and the Task Force, House Bill 1222 is sponsored by Rep. Mark Hatfield, Dist 177, Rep. Barry Fleming, Dist 117, Rep. David Ralston, Dist 7, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee-Non Civil, and Rep. John Lunsford, Dist 110, Rep Stan Watson, Dist 91, Rep. Tim Bearden, Dist 68, and Rep. Charlice Byrd, Dist 20. A companion bill in the Senate, SB 502, is sponsored by Sen. Joseph Carter, Dist 13, Sen. Bill Hamrick, Dist 30, Sen. Judson Hill, Dist 32, Sen. Preston Smith, Dist 52 and Sen. John Wiles, Dist 37.
Governor Sonny Perdue fully supports this legislation, and in an effort to further address impaired driving concerns, he has included $400,000.00 in his current Budget to fund Georgia’s DUI Court Project. GOHS Director Dallas said initial results from Georgia’s DUI Courts have shown a reduction in the recidivism rate among those repeat DUI offenders.
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