When police receive numerous calls about a possible drunken driver, they usually spring into action and track down the driver before anyone is hurt. That’s exactly what happened to John Stamos, an actor best known for his role as Uncle Jesse on “Full House.” Police dispatch received reports of a drunk driver and Mr. Stamos was identified as the driver everyone was calling about. He was transported to the hospital and given a citation for Driving Under the Influence, or DUI.
Drunk Driving in Larimer County
Driving Under the Influence – C.R.S. 42-4-1301 – is defined by Colorado law as:
(f) “Driving under the influence” means driving a motor vehicle or vehicle when a person has consumed alcohol or one or more drugs, or a combination of alcohol and one or more drugs, that affects the person to a degree that the person is substantially incapable, either mentally or physically, or both mentally and physically, to exercise clear judgment, sufficient physical control, or due care in the safe operation of a vehicle.
DUI is charged when a person’s blood alcohol content (BAC) is .08 or higher. This impairment level can only be measured through a blood or breath sample. While roadside tests are voluntary and a person is not required to submit to them, or a Portable Breath Test (PBT); after an arrest is made, the arrestee is required to provide a blood or breath sample. This is known as Express Consent.
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Express Consent in Fort Collins: You Already Said Yes
Expressed Consent for the Taking of Blood, Breath, Urine, or Saliva Sample – C.R.S. 42-4-1301.1 –
(2)A person who drives a motor vehicle upon the streets and highways and elsewhere throughout this state shall be required to take and complete, and to cooperate in the taking and completing of, any test or tests of the person’s breath or blood for the purpose of determining the alcoholic content of the person’s blood or breath when so requested and directed by a law enforcement officer having probable cause to believe that the person was driving a motor vehicle in violation of the prohibitions against DUI, DUI per se, DWAI, or UDD. Except as otherwise provided in this section, if a person who is twenty-one years of age or older requests that the test be a blood test, then the test shall be of his or her blood; but, if the person requests that a specimen of his or her blood not be drawn, then a specimen of the person’s breath shall be obtained and tested.
This means, by taking on the responsibility of driving in the state of Colorado, you have already consented to providing a blood, breath, urine, or saliva sample. Now, police in Fort Collins, Loveland, and Estes Park cannot request any of these samples in order to arrest you. There has to first be probable cause for an arrest.