New Tennessee DUI Law Leads to 8 Warrants for Blood Tests

The Tennessee Safety Department says the new “no refusal” state law produced warrants for blood samples from eight drunken driving suspects who wouldn’t take a breath test.

A five-county effort launched last week aimed to raise motorist awareness of the law. Until this year, drivers could refuse a blood alcohol content test but faced losing their licenses for violating what’s known as the “implied consent” law.

The toughened law allows officers to ask a judge to issue a warrant for blood samples that can support a drunken driving charge.

Sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols led to one warrant in Anderson County, one warrant in Davidson County and six in Maury County. Bradley and Warren counties also were part of the crackdown, which produced 48 DUI arrests.