                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

IMPLIED CONSENT TO POST-ARREST CHEMICAL TEST TO DETERMINE ALCOHOL OR DRUG
CONTENT OF BLOOD OF COMMERCIAL DRIVER (§ 46.2-341.26:2)

A. Any person, whether licensed by Virginia or not, who operates a commercial
motor vehicle upon a highway as defined in &#xA7; 46.2-100 in the Commonwealth
shall be deemed thereby, as a condition of such operation, to have consented to
have samples of his blood, breath, or both blood and breath taken for a chemical
test to determine the alcohol, drug or both alcohol and drug content of his
blood, if he is arrested for violation of &#xA7; 46.2-341.24 or 46.2-341.31
within three hours of the alleged offense.

B. Such person shall be required to have a breath sample taken and shall be
entitled, upon request, to observe the process of analysis and to see the
blood-alcohol reading on the equipment used to perform the breath test. If the
equipment automatically produces a written printout of the breath test result,
the printout or a copy shall be given to the suspect. If a breath test is not
available, then a blood test shall be required.

C. The person may be required to submit to blood tests to determine the drug
content of his blood if he has been arrested pursuant to provision (iii), (iv),
or (v) of subsection A of &#xA7; 46.2-341.24, or if he has taken the breath test
required pursuant to subsection B and the law-enforcement officer has reasonable
cause to believe the person was driving under the influence of any drug or
combination of drugs, or the combined influence of alcohol and drugs.

D. If the certificate of analysis referred to in &#xA7; 46.2-341.26:9 indicates
the presence of alcohol in the suspect&#8217;s blood, the suspect shall be taken
before a magistrate to determine whether the magistrate should issue an
out-of-service order prohibiting the suspect from driving any commercial motor
vehicle for a 24-hour period. If the magistrate finds that there is probable
cause to believe that the suspect was driving a commercial motor vehicle with
any measurable amount of alcohol in his blood, the magistrate shall issue an
out-of-service order prohibiting the suspect from driving any commercial motor
vehicle for a period of 24 hours. The magistrate shall forward a copy of the
out-of-service order to the Department within seven days after issuing the
order. The order shall be in addition to any other action or sanction permitted
or required by law to be taken against or imposed upon the suspect.

HISTORY: 1992, c. 830; 1993, c. 673; 2005, c. 616; 2017, c. 623.