DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU CAN LOSE YOUR LICENSE IF YOU ARE ARRESTED AND CITED FOR DUI OR DRUGS? IN ADDITION IF YOU ARE ON PROBATION AND A TERM OF PROBATION IS DO NOT DRIVE WITH ANY MEASURABLE AMOUNT OF ALCOHOL IN YOUR SYSTEM, THIS CAN BE REPORTED TO DMV FOR ACTION AGAINST YOUR LICENSE.
Speaking with a supervisor with the DMV’s Driver safety office, Officers are instructed to complete the Admin Per Se form (form ds367) for DUI’s where an officer arrests the driver for DUI for “DRUGS ONLY”. Officers are being instructed to do the Admin Per Se form on these “DRUGS ONLY” cases. On the front of the form they are instructed to check the box for “0.08% or more BAC chemical test results”, put a line through it and then write “DRUGS ONLY”. The officer will not take the driver’s CDL and will not give the pink copy of the Admin Per Se to the driver like they normally do with DUI arrests involving alcohol. If there is a situation where there is a combo of drugs and alcohol but the BAC is below .08, the officers are instructed to do the exact same thing as described above: Write “DRUGS ONLY”, DON’T take the CDL and DON’T give the suspect the pink copy. If they have a DUI with drug/alcohol combo where the BAC is .08 or more, the officer’s are instructed to do the Admin Per Se form (DS367), taking the suspect’s CDL and giving him the pink copy.
The officers are being reminded that, when they have a DUI where they suspect a drug/alcohol combo, they still have to offer the breath test.
If they choose to take a breath test, we do the breath test then call a blood tech in so we can detect the drugs.
Once the DMV gets the Admin Per Se Form on the “DRUGS ONLY” case, they will get a copy of the blood results. Once they get a confirmation that there were drugs in the suspect’s system, they will require the suspect to come in for a “re-examination”. The officer’s are being instructed to be detailed in their narrative on the Admin Per Se’s on the suspect’s bad driving. This “re-examination” CAN result in the suspect’s CDL being suspended, even if the suspect comes to his re-exam appearing to be sober of drugs or alcohol.
In addition, officers are being instructed that when they stop drivers that have a CDL record indicating that they “must submit to a PAS and cannot drive with alcohol in their system” that if the PAS result is below an .08 and the officer chooses not to arrest the suspect for the 23152(a) (DUI) section, the officer can do the following: Complete a “request for re-examination” (form ds427) on the driver. If they observed any violation of vehicle code sections 21000 through 23336, the officer’s can check the “notice of priority re-examination of driver” box. If not, they can just check the “request for regular re-examination of driver” box. Again, officers are being told to be specific on any poor driving you might have witnessed. Also in the narrative, they are being asked to put that the suspect is already on probation with the DMV for DUI and is not supposed to drive with any alcohol in his blood. They are being instructed to list the PAS result and the fact that the suspect may pose a threat to the community based on his alcohol addiction. They will then call the suspect in with the possibly of suspension/revocation of the CDL.
The bottom line is, officer’s are being given additional training and resources in order to suspend the license of driver’s that drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol or both. If you are currently under a court order not to drive with any measurable amount of alcohol in your system and an officer stops you and does the process above, not only will you face a departmental action with DMV, but also a possible violation of probation to the court that sentenced you.
