5.2 Implied Consent, Administrative Suspensions, DUI/DWI Penalties & Noah's Law

Implied Consent

In Maryland, if you drive or attempt to drive a motor vehicle on a road, or on private property used by the public, you consent to take a drug or alcohol test if a law enforcement officer asks. The tests measure the amount of alcohol or drugs in your body. If an officer believes you are impaired by drugs or a controlled substance, a drug recognition expert may request that you submit to a blood test.

The manual summarizes the result:

• Your license will be suspended if your BAC is 0.08 or higher.
• The MVA will suspend your license if you are impaired with drugs in your system.
• If an officer certifies that you refused a test, the MVA will suspend your license.

What Happens at the Stop

When a driver refuses a test, or tests at 0.08 or higher, Maryland law (Transportation Article § 16-205.1) requires the officer to:

1. Advise the driver of the administrative sanctions. Maryland uses an Advice of Rights form (DR-15).
2. Take the driver's license and issue a temporary license valid for 45 days.
3. Explain the hearing rights: a hearing request made at the time or within 10 days is scheduled within 45 days and keeps the temporary license valid; a request made between 10 and 30 days still gets a hearing but does not extend the 45-day temporary license.

Instead of requesting a hearing, an eligible driver may choose to join the Ignition Interlock Program. The MVA lists the program length as 180 days for a result of 0.08 to under 0.15, and 1 year for a result of 0.15 or higher or a refusal.

Administrative Suspensions (MVA)

Refusing does not help you keep your license; a first refusal brings a longer suspension than a first failed test.

Criminal Penalties in Court (§ 21-902)

A second DUI within 5 years carries a mandatory minimum of 5 days in jail, and a third within 5 years 10 days. A driver with two prior impaired-driving convictions faces up to 5 years and/or $5,000, and one with three or more faces up to 10 years and/or $10,000. If the court finds you knowingly refused a test, you face up to an additional 2 months and/or $500.

Points

• DUI (including per se and illegal-drug impairment): 12 points, the revocation level.
• DWI: 8 points, the suspension level.

Noah's Law and the Ignition Interlock Program

Maryland's 2016 drunk-driving law is known as Noah's Law, after Montgomery County police officer Noah Leotta, who was struck and killed by an impaired driver in December 2015. Under current law, a driver convicted of, or given probation before judgment for, DUI or DWI must participate in the Ignition Interlock System Program:

Drivers under 21 who violate the alcohol restriction can also be required to join the program to keep or regain driving privileges.

How the device works (MVA): it is camera-enabled and connected to the ignition. You blow into it before starting; if your BAC is over 0.025, the car will not start. It asks for random retests while you drive, which you can complete without pulling over, and it records everything. You must visit your service provider every 30 days. Participants get a license with a "J" restriction and pay all program costs. The manual's reminder: if you are caught drinking and driving, you will have to install a breathalyzer car lock.

Repeat offenders: the MVA says a driver with two or more DUI convictions within 5 years faces a 1-year suspension or 1 year in the Interlock Program, followed by another year of interlock-restricted driving.

Exam Shortcuts

• 270 days = first refusal; 180 days = first failed test.
• 12 points = DUI; 8 points = DWI.
• 45 days of temporary driving; 10 days to request a hearing that keeps it.