Ayotte pushes harsher punishments for suspected drunken drivers who refuse test

At 68%, New Hampshire has the second highest rate of refusal for Breathalyzer tests in the United States, according to state officials. Law enforcement officials say it’s part of a cultural problem resulting from how the state punishes refusal. Gov. Kelly Ayotte says it needs to be fixed.

In New Hampshire, the penalty for refusing to take a blood alcohol test at a police officer’s request is a six-month license suspension. That’s the same punishment drivers receive for failing a test. Law enforcement officials say that incentivizes drunken drivers to refuse the test. Ayotte called this a “loophole” at a press conference in Concord Tuesday.

Rhode Island is the only state with a higher refusal rate, at about 71%, per state officials. In Rhode Island, the penalty for refusing a test is a license suspension of six months at minimum and potential fines, community service, or participating in an alcohol treatment program, according to the Rhode Island DMV. Vermont and Maine have refusal rates of 22% and 14%, respectively. In Vermont, the penalty for refusing a test is a minimum six-month license suspension (though a failed test results in a nine-month suspension plus potential criminal charges) while in Maine the penalty is a minimum 275-day suspension (a failed test results in a 150-day suspension for a first offense), according to those states.

“Many of those who refuse a test often plead their cases down and ultimately don’t receive appropriate consequences,” Col. Mike Hall of the New Hampshire State Police said. “This backwards incentive structure is widely recognized as a key driver of New Hampshire’s chronically high refusal rate.”

Ayotte wants to increase the penalty from six-month license suspension to a year to make refusing a breath test more costly. During Tuesday’s press conference, the governor called upon the New Hampshire House of Representatives to pass Senate Bill 620, sponsored by Sandown Republican Sen. Bill Gannon. The bill has already been approved by the Senate.

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Beth Shaw, a Bow mother of a young man named Tyler who was killed by a drunken driver, pleaded with lawmakers Tuesday to pass the bill.

“For the legislators who may vote against this bill, I would encourage them to ride along with law enforcement to an impaired riding crash, witness firsthand the brutal, horrific death of an innocent victim, then accompany the officers to notify the family that their loved one was killed by a drunk driver,” Shaw said. “The worst thing that ever happened to me was opening the door in the middle of the night to three officers telling me that Tyler was tragically killed by a drunk driver.”

Democrats and the libertarian wing of the House rejected similar legislation in 2024, arguing that it infringes upon the rights and bodily autonomy of drivers. Opponents also said the state should focus on communicating the dangers of drunken driving rather than punishments. Asked how supporters of the bill would appeal to detractors this time around, Ayotte said: “We’re just going to use common sense here in talking to legislators,” and “we have a broad coalition … senators, sheriffs, police chiefs, members of the public. This is a group that I would hope the House would listen to.”

Ayotte dismissed the risk of faulty Breathalyzer readings because “these are well-established tests and I think everyone around law enforcement can attest that these tests have been used for a long time” and “have been litigated many, many times.” Still, she did not have on hand any specific numbers on the accuracy of the tests. She also pointed out that the court system has a process to challenge Breathalyzer tests. “That is not a valid reason to not do the right thing here,” she said.

Ayotte has made traffic safety a key priority in her second year as governor. In 2025, she convened a special task force on traffic safety. This bill was one of the group’s recommendations.