An officer charges you with driving while impaired and asks for a chemical test of your breath or blood. You refuse. What is the immediate consequence to your license?
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A.
The officer must get a warrant before any revocation begins
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B.
A ten-day suspension pending a court hearing
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C.
A fine, but your driving privilege stays intact pending trial
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D.
License revoked at least 30 days, plus an additional minimum 12-month DMV revocation Correct
The answer is "License revoked at least 30 days, plus an additional minimum 12-month DMV revocation"
Refusing a required chemical test triggers an immediate revocation of your license for at least 30 days, plus an additional minimum 12-month revocation by the DMV. Choice A is the trap for readers who know that a search warrant is normally required before officers gather evidence, and who carry that habit over to the administrative license revocation that refusal alone triggers under North Carolina's implied-consent law.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. The officer must get a warrant before any revocation begins
Revocation on refusal is automatic under North Carolina's implied-consent law; driving in the state is what subjects you to the chemical-test requirement, and the DMV imposes the 30-day plus 12-month revocation without any warrant. This answer confuses the search-warrant rules that apply to gathering chemical evidence with the administrative license revocation that follows refusal on its own.
B. A ten-day suspension pending a court hearing
North Carolina does not use a ten-day figure; the immediate revocation is at least 30 days, followed by an additional minimum 12-month DMV revocation. This answer substitutes a short pre-hearing hold remembered from another state's implied-consent penalty for North Carolina's 30-day figure.
C. A fine, but your driving privilege stays intact pending trial
The manual gives no fine-only response to a refusal; refusal itself triggers the immediate 30-day revocation and an additional minimum 12-month DMV revocation. This answer treats an officer-issued impaired-driving charge like an ordinary traffic ticket, where the license stays valid until a judge rules and a fine is the immediate cost.
This question tests your knowledge of DUI & Impaired Driving in North Carolina. Source: North Carolina Driver Handbook, "Chapter 2 - Alcohol and the Law: Driving While Impaired," p.31..
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