The First Implied Consent Laws

New York was the first state to adopt what has commonly become known as the “implied consent law” in 1953. This law was designed to force possible drunk drivers to submit to a blood, breath or urine test after the driver had been stopped by an officer and the officer then had a reasonable belief that the driver was impaired. The theory behind the practice of implementing implied consent laws (also known as informed consent) is that any driver who used the roads and highways implicitly consented to giving his or her permission for a breath or blood (and in some states, urine) sample that could be subsequently used as evidence at trial.