Section Three: Be in Shape to Drive 26
and sedatives, have an impact on driving
safely. Check the label on the prescription
and packaging before you take a drug for
warnings about its effect. If you are not sure
if it is safe to take the drug and drive, ask
your doctor or pharmacist about any side
effects.
Illegal Drugs
Illegal drugs can impact your driving and can
affect your reflexes, judgment, vision, and
alertness in ways like alcohol. If you are
found guilty of a drug violation while driving
and it is your first conviction within a ten (10)
year period, you will be fined not less than
$200 nor more than $500 plus court costs,
imprisoned in the county jail for not less than
forty-eight (48) hours nor more than thirty
(30) days, and your license suspended for
30 to 120 days. For second and subsequent
convictions within a ten (10) year period, the
penalties are much worse.
Alcohol and the Law
In Kentucky, a person shall not
operate or be in physical control
of a motor vehicle while having
an alcohol concentration of 0.08
or above, or while under the
influence of alcohol, a controlled
substance, or other substance which impairs
driving ability. In other words, you are in
violation of the DUI law if you operate a
vehicle with an alcohol concentration of 0.08
or above. However, you could still be in
violation of the law with an alcohol
concentration under 0.08 if there is evidence
of impaired driving while under the influence
of alcohol or other substances. If you are
under the age of twenty-one (21), you are in
violation of the law with an alcohol
concentration of 0.02 or more.
If you are stopped by a law enforcement
officer and suspected of operating a motor
vehicle under the influence of alcohol or
other substance, the officer may request
you to submit to a test of your blood,
breath, urine, or any combination of these
tests. These tests are used for the purpose
of determining alcohol concentration or the
presence of a substance which may impair
a person’s driving ability, and based on
Kentucky’s implied consent law, a driver is
required to take any test lawfully requested
by a law enforcement officer. Kentucky
implied consent law is based on the
principle that when you operate a vehicle,
you have implicitly consented to a lawfully
requested test of your blood, breath, urine,
or any combination of these tests. Although
implied consent laws vary by state, the law
applies to the state where you are arrested,
not the state where you got your license.
If a police officer requests that you submit to
a test of your breath, blood, or urine, or any
combination of these tests and you refuse to
submit to any requested test, your refusal
may result in the suspension of your driver’s
license by the court and if you are convicted
of violating KRS 189A.010 (DUI), will result
in your license being suspended by the
Transportation Cabinet.
If you refuse to submit to the breath, blood,
or urine tests, this refusal may be used
against you in court as evidence of your
violation of KRS 189A.010 (DUI). In addition,
if you are subsequently convicted of KRS
189A.010, for a second or greater offense
within a ten (10) year period, your refusal of
a breath or urine test will be considered an
aggravating circumstance and you will be
subject to a mandatory minimum jail
sentence which is twice as long as the
mandatory minimum jail sentence imposed if
you submit to the tests.
If you take the test or tests, the results of any
test taken may be used against you in court
as evidence of violating KRS 189A.010
(DUI). If you take the test or tests, you have
the right to have a test or tests of your blood
performed by a person of your choosing
described in KRS 189A.103 (a physician,
registered nurse, phlebotomist, medical
technician, or medical technologist not
otherwise prohibited by law) within a