Chicago DUI alert: beware AAIM!

Coming soon? More rules to punish you just because you are charged with a Chicago DUI, before due process has been afforded you.

The Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists (AAIM) has a wish list of proposed legislation to combat DUI. Now they want to penalize you for refusing to submitting to Field Sobriety Tests (FST's). Currently, there is no penalty for refusing FST's, aside from the fact that in my opinion you are going to be arrested for a Chicago DUI whether you "pass" those tests or not. You are only penalized for refusing to submit to a blood, breath, or urine test by having your license suspended simply for being charged with a Chicago DUI, regardless of whether you are ultimately found guilty of that DUI. That driver's license suspension (if you refuse to submit to chemical testing) is one year, assuming you have never been charged with a DUI before. There is currently an automatic six month suspension if you have never been charged with a DUI before, submit to chemical testing, and blow over the legal limit of 0.08 BAC.

AAIM's Proposal:

The Problem
A growing number of suspected DUI offenders are refusing to perform any field sobriety test (FST's) and the preliminary breath test. There is no penalty for refusing FST's or the preliminary breath test. Some defense attorneys explicitly advise their clients to completely refuse any tests.

Without the evidence from the FST's and the preliminary breath test, police may lack sufficient probably cause to make a valid DUI arrest, which means charges will be dismissed and the impaired driver will get off SCOTT free. When a motorist refuses to perform the FST's and the preliminary breath test, an officer must decide whether to let the driver go - risking a serious crash down the road - or whether to make an arrest that may be thrown out of court. In short, drivers under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs exploit this gaping loophole in the law to avoid detection and punishment.

The Solution
Enact a bill to suspend driving privilege for six months from motorists who refuse to perform the preliminary breath test. There is already a suspension imposed upon motorists arrested for DUI who refuse to submit to the standard chemical test (breath and or urine/blood), but the officer needs a probable cause provided by the preliminary breath test to detect an impaired driver. This bill contains an exception for persons with a medical disability that are unable to perform a particular test because of the disability.

So in AAIM's ideal world, your license would be suspended for a Chicago DUI just because you refuse to perform the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests, and irrespective of what happens after that refusal, for example a breath test result of .02.