The DUI Stop and the Test
K.S.A. 8-1001 — a test of blood, breath or urine may be requested, and a refusal suspends driving for a year
An officer with reasonable suspicion of impaired driving may ask a driver for a preliminary screening test of breath or oral fluid. It helps decide whether to arrest and whether to ask for further tests, and its results are not admitted at trial on the driving charge.
Who handles this in Kansas: Johnson County Bar Association, Find a Lawyer; and legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Kansas directory.
Anyone who operates or attempts to operate a vehicle in Kansas may be asked, under the law's conditions, to submit to tests of blood, breath, urine or other bodily substance for alcohol or drugs.
- If the person refuses to submit to and complete the test, driving privileges will be suspended for a period of one year.
- A refusal may be used against the person at any trial on a charge of driving under the influence.
Testing is also limited by the Fourth Amendment. The Supreme Court of the United States has held that a breath test may be taken without a warrant as part of a lawful arrest for drunk driving and a blood test may not; that a driver may not be criminally punished for refusing a blood test where no warrant was obtained; and that the natural fall of alcohol in the blood does not by itself create an emergency excusing a warrant in every case, which is decided case by case on all the circumstances. Those holdings are a floor: a state's own constitution and statutes can give more protection than they do, never less.
Sources for this section (4)
- K.S.A. 8-1001 — Tests for alcohol or drugs; request by officer, grounds; administration of tests, when; procedures; immunity from liability; duty to provide driver notice; refusal to comply or test result exceeding limit, license suspension; admissibility and availability of test result; remedial nature of law
- K.S.A. 8-1012 — Preliminary screening test of breath or oral fluid; request by officer, reasonable suspicion; use of results of test; additional tests; approved devices
- Birchfield v. North Dakota, 579 U.S. 438 (2016) — A breath test may be taken incident to arrest, a blood draw needs a warrant
- Missouri v. McNeely, 569 U.S. 141 (2013) — The natural fall of blood alcohol is not by itself an emergency justifying a warrantless draw
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Kansas attorney.