§ 20-138.2B. Operating a school bus, school activity bus, or child care vehicle after consuming alcohol. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 20‑138.2B.  Operatinga school bus, school activity bus, or child care vehicle after consumingalcohol.

(a)        Offense. – A personcommits the offense of operating a school bus, school activity bus, or childcare vehicle after consuming alcohol if the person drives a school bus, schoolactivity bus, or child care vehicle upon any highway, any street, or any publicvehicular area within the State while consuming alcohol or while alcoholremains in the person's body.

(b)        Implied‑ConsentOffense. – An offense under this section is an implied‑consent offensesubject to the provisions of G.S. 20‑16.2. The provisions of G.S. 20‑139.1shall apply to an offense committed under this section.

(b1)      Odor Insufficient. –The odor of an alcoholic beverage on the breath of the driver is insufficientevidence by itself to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that alcohol wasremaining in the driver's body in violation of this section unless the driverwas offered an alcohol screening test or chemical analysis and refused to provideall required samples of breath or blood for analysis.

(b2)      Alcohol ScreeningTest. – Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an alcohol screening testmay be administered to a driver suspected of violation of subsection (a) ofthis section, and the results of an alcohol screening test or the driver'srefusal to submit may be used by a law enforcement officer, a court, or anadministrative agency in determining if alcohol was present in the driver'sbody. No alcohol screening tests are valid under this section unless the deviceused is one approved by the Department of Health and Human Services, and thescreening test is conducted in accordance with the applicable regulations ofthe Department as to its manner and use.

(c)        Punishment. – Exceptas otherwise provided in this subsection, a violation of the offense describedin subsection (a) of this section is a Class 3 misdemeanor and, notwithstandingG.S. 15A‑1340.23, is punishable by a penalty of one hundred dollars($100.00). A second or subsequent violation of this section is a misdemeanorpunishable under G.S. 20‑179. This offense is a lesser included offenseof impaired driving of a commercial vehicle under G.S. 20‑138.1.

(d)        Second orSubsequent Conviction Defined. – A conviction for violating this offense is asecond or subsequent conviction if at the time of the current offense theperson has a previous conviction under this section, and the previousconviction occurred in the seven years immediately preceding the date of thecurrent offense. This definition of second or subsequent conviction alsoapplies to G.S. 20‑19(c2).  (1998‑182, s. 27; 1999‑406, s. 16; 2000‑140,s. 6; 2000‑155, s. 17; 2007‑182, s. 2; 2008‑187, s. 36(b).)