On April 7, 2010 the Tennessee House of Representatives passed a bill permitting the General Sessions Courts to determine violations of implied consent, even if the DUI case is bound over to the Criminal Court. The determination will mean an implied consent revocation will happen much sooner in the process.

Read the bill, which will be considered in the Senate Judiciary Committee in the next week or two, in the Resources folder, or by clicking the link below.

Implied Consent as Amended.pdf

The Drug Recognition Evaluation program has been recently endorsed by the Connecticut Association of Optometrists (CAO) and the New Jersey Society of Optometric Physicians (NJSOP).

To read about how the eye doctors analyze the use of various eye tests used by law enforcement officers in the DRE program, click the link below.

AOA News - March 2010 DRE Resolutions.pdf

A new issue of the quarterly newsletter, DUI News, is now available. Click here or the link below to download the latest issue.

DUI News: Issue 30

SENATE BILL 3346

Bail, Bail Bonds - As introduced, allows a court, when setting bail for a defendant arrested for certain alcohol related offenses and such defendant has prior convictions for certain alcohol related offenses or is currently already released on bail for certain alcohol related offenses, to order monitoring devices or in-patient treatment as a condition of release and requires the court to determine whether the defendant is a danger to the community prior to release.

SENATE BILL 2970

As introduced, broadens substances that may affect central nervous system for purposes of the prohibition against driving under the influence.

SENATE BILL 0844

As introduced, permits arrest for DUI to toll the 10 and 20 year provision between convictions for purpose of determining a multiple offender.

HOUSE BILL 0719

As introduced, creates within the department of safety a "Repeat DUI Offender" registry of persons who have two or more DUI convictions and whose license is currently suspended or revoked; makes the registry available on the Internet.

HOUSE BILL 3282

As introduced, allows general session's court to determine whether a person charged with DUI also violated the implied consent law rather than requiring implied consent cases to be heard by court determining the DUI.

Preliminary data concerning Tennessee traffic fatalities in the first quarter of 2010 indicates that 19 fewer people have died on our roads this year than at this time last year.

So far in 2010, one hundred eighty three (183) people have perished. Counties that have seen the largest increases in deaths are Sumner +7, Campbell and Knox +5 and Morgan +4.

To see how your county is doing, download the latest .pdf in our Resources section, or click the link below.

March 2010 - Motor Vehicle Fatality and Safety Restraint Usage Report.