§ 20-16.3. Alcohol screening tests required of certain drivers; approval of test devices and manner of use by Department of Health and Human Services; use of test results or refusal. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 20‑16.3.  Alcoholscreening tests required of certain drivers; approval of test devices andmanner of use by Department of Health and Human Services; use of test resultsor refusal.

(a)        When AlcoholScreening Test May Be Required; Not an Arrest. – A law‑enforcementofficer may require the driver of a vehicle to submit to an alcohol screeningtest within a relevant time after the driving if the officer has:

(1)        Reasonable groundsto believe that the driver has consumed alcohol and has:

a.         Committed a movingtraffic violation; or

b.         Been involved in anaccident or collision; or

(2)        An articulable andreasonable suspicion that the driver has committed an implied‑consentoffense under G.S. 20‑16.2, and the driver has been lawfully stopped fora driver's license check or otherwise lawfully stopped or lawfully encounteredby the officer in the course of the performance of the officer's duties.

Requiring a driver to submit toan alcohol screening test in accordance with this section does not in itselfconstitute an arrest.

(b)        Approval ofScreening Devices and Manner of Use. – The Department of Health and HumanServices is directed to examine and approve devices suitable for use by law‑enforcementofficers in making on‑the‑scene tests of drivers for alcoholconcentration. For each alcohol screening device or class of devices approved,the Department must adopt regulations governing the manner of use of thedevice. For any alcohol screening device that tests the breath of a driver, theDepartment is directed to specify in its regulations the shortest feasibleminimum waiting period that does not produce an unacceptably high number offalse positive test results.

(c)        Tests Must Be Madewith Approved Devices and in Approved Manner. – No screening test for alcoholconcentration is a valid one under this section unless the device used is oneapproved by the Department and the screening test is conducted in accordancewith the applicable regulations of the Department as to the manner of its use.

(d)        Use of ScreeningTest Results or Refusal by Officer. – The fact that a driver showed a positiveor negative result on an alcohol screening test, but not the actual alcoholconcentration result, or a driver's refusal to submit may be used by a law‑enforcementofficer, is admissible in a court, or may also be used by an administrativeagency in determining if there are reasonable grounds for believing:

(1)        That the driver hascommitted an implied‑consent offense under G.S. 20‑16.2; and

(2)        That the driver hadconsumed alcohol and that the driver had in his or her body previously consumedalcohol, but not to prove a particular alcohol concentration. Negative resultson the alcohol screening test may be used in factually appropriate cases by theofficer, a court, or an administrative agency in determining whether a person'salleged impairment is caused by an impairing substance other than alcohol. (1973, c. 312, s. 1; c. 476,s. 128; 1981, c. 412, s. 4; c. 747, s. 66; 1983, c. 435, s. 12; 2006‑253,s. 7.)