There are certain cases in which a driver may be required to undergo breathalyzer tests. This happens when a driver has been involved in a traffic accident, when there is a preventive blood alcohol check or when a traffic violation has been committed and symptoms of driving under the influence are evident. ‘alcohol.

Now, what happens if, faced with the request of a police officer, a driver refuses to submit to the test? Can someone still be convicted of the crime of alcoholism even if it has not been possible to demonstrate through the test a rate in breath air greater than 0.60 mg per liter?

Article 383 of the Penal Code is responsible for typifying the refusal to take this test at the request of an agent of the authority. Respecting the literalness of the law, the penal provision establishes the following:

“The driver who, required by an officer of the authority, refuses to submit to the legally established tests to check the blood alcohol levels and the presence of toxic drugs, narcotics and psychotropic substances (…), will be punishable by prison terms of six months to one year and deprivation of the right to drive motor vehicles and mopeds for a period exceeding one and up to four years”.

As you can see, this refusal is conceived as a crime against road safety punishable by a compound sentence of imprisonment and deprivation of the right to drive. This avoids the picaresque that happened years ago before the reforms of the penal code, in which, at the level of penalty, it was preferable to commit the crime of disobedience before that of driving under the influence of alcohol since before the reform first offense did not lead to withdrawal of license. Currently, as indicated, the crime of disobedience for refusing to submit to the breathalyzer test entails in any case the deprivation of the right to drive, now having in fact a more aggravated penalty by carrying prison sentences, while that alcoholism can result in a fine.