Rockingham County beefs up alcohol testing

By Heather Smith

Published: July 8, 2008

The Rockingham County District Attorney’s office in August will begin requiring suspected drunken drivers to submit to blood-alcohol testing.

Phil Berger Jr., district attorney, said suspected impaired drivers who refuse a breath test to establish blood-alcohol level will have to provide a sample of body fluid instead.

Though state law allows officers to test by other means, most cases in which breath tests are refused are tried on responding officer testimony.

“If not by breath-test, then by other methods,” Berger said. “Evidence can be based on the officer’s opinions and affidavit. They can testify whether the accused appeared appreciatively impaired and not able to safely operate a motor vehicle.”

Under state law, the law enforcement officer may ask the driver to provide a blood or urine sample to establish the exact level of alcohol in the driver’s blood.

The officer may do this without a court order if there is a strong suspicion the driver is intoxicated, because a delay in testing allows time for recovery.

“They don’t need (a court order), not if they have reason to believe a delay would cause dissipation of blood-alcohol levels to occur,” Berger said.

Test results prove level of intoxication and are easier to present in court than

officer testimony.

Those test results, Berger said, are necessary to establish an offender’s guilt or innocence without question and ensure guilty drivers are punished for endangering other drivers.

The program is sponsored by the National Traffic Safety Administration’s nationwide push to reduce drunk driving. Berger said Assistant District Attorney Melanie Bridge designed the program requiring test results.

“Melanie came up with the idea as something that would be useful against drunk driving and concentrates on getting numbers,” Berger said.

Under state law, refusal to submit to blood-alcohol testing by breath test means automatic driver’s license revocation. With the proper permit from the Department of Health and Human Services, an officer may take a urine sample from a driver if there is reasonable suspicion that he or she is over the legal limit. Or, the officer may order a nurse, doctor, EMS worker or other health care worker to take the sample.

• Staff writer Heather J. Smith can be reached at or 623-2155, ext. 15.