The Sisyphus Comments

NHTSA Breath Test Refusals in DWI Enforcement Report

Breath test refusal rates nationwide have remained stable at about one-quarter of all drivers arrested for DWI from 1996 to 2001. States with statistically significant changes in refusal rates are split evenly between those with increases and those with decreases. In five case-study States, first-time offenders generally constitute the majority of those arrested for DWI and a majority of those refusing the breath test, even in those States where it is to their advantage to take the test. First-time offenders often do not understand the consequences of taking or refusing the test. In many States, repeat offenders refuse the test more frequently than first-time offenders. In all 5 case-study States, consequences of refusal are less for repeat offenders than the consequences of taking and failing the test. In Connecticut and Maryland, submitting to the breath test is usually beneficial for first-time offenders. The report discusses possible strategies States and jurisdictions can implement to decrease breath test refusals.

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