Colorado police are now required to offer voluntary breath tests to drivers involved in fatal and serious-injury crashes, with a law honoring a teenage cyclist killed in a Boulder County crash taking effect Wednesday.
The law requires officers to offer a preliminary breath test to drivers whom they believe were at fault in a crash that killed or was suspected to have seriously injured someone. The rule applies only to drivers who are not seriously hurt or in need of immediate medical care.
Drivers can still refuse the preliminary breath test. The result or the refusal of a test can’t be used in court, and refusing a test doesn’t impact the status of a driver’s license, according to the law. If a test shows evidence that the driver was intoxicated, that result could be used to request further testing that could be used in court, or to make an arrest…