San Diego DUI Implied Consent Law

By driving in California you have automatically given your “implied consent” to submit to a chemical blood, breath or urine test if a police officer suspects you of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

If you refuse to take a chemical test then the police are allowed to forcibly take a blood sample from you and your driving license will be suspended for at least one year. Refusal to take a chemical test at the police station after you have been arrested counts as a DUI enhancement and will incur additional penalties to the standard DUI charge. Do not confuse the chemical test after you have been arrested, which you must take, with the field sobriety tests done at the roadside before you have been arrested, which you have the right to refuse to participate in. This includes the roadside breathalyser test, PAS, which you may refuse to take as long as you are not on probation and are over the age of 21.

If you are suspected of drunk driving then you have the right to choose between a blood test or a breathalyser test after you have been transported to the police station. If you are suspected of driving under the influence of drugs then you have the right to choose between a blood test and a urine test, but if the particular arresting agency does not support urine analysis for drugs then you must take the blood test.