or substance which may impair driving ability prohibited -- Presumptions
concerning intoxication.
(1) No person under the influence of intoxicating beverages or any substance which
may impair one's driving ability shall operate a vehicle that is not a motor vehicle
anywhere in this state.
(2) No peace officer or State Police officer shall fail to enforce rigidly this section.
(3) In any criminal prosecution for a violation of subsection (1) of this section, wherein
the defendant is charged with having operated a vehicle which is not a motor
vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating beverages, the alcohol
concentration, as defined in KRS 189A.005, in the defendant's blood as determined
at the time of making an analysis of his blood, urine, or breath, shall give rise to the
following presumptions:
(a) If there was an alcohol concentration of less than 0.05, it shall be presumed
that the defendant was not under the influence of alcohol;
(b) If there was an alcohol concentration of 0.05 or greater but less than 0.08,
such fact shall not constitute a presumption that the defendant either was or
was not under the influence of alcohol, but such fact may be considered,
together with other competent evidence, in determining the guilt or innocence
of the defendant; and
(c) If there was an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more, it shall be presumed
that the defendant was under the influence of alcohol.
(4) The provisions of subsection (3) of this section shall not be construed as limiting
the introduction of any other competent evidence bearing upon the question of
whether the defendant was under the influence of intoxicating beverages.
Effective: October 1, 2000
History: Amended 2000 Ky. Acts ch. 467, sec. 12, effective October 1, 2000. --
Amended 1991 (1st Extra. Sess.) Acts ch. 15, sec. 19, effective July 1, 1991. --
Amended 1984 Ky. Acts ch. 165, sec. 18, effective July 13, 1984. -- Amended 1968
Ky. Acts ch. 184, sec. 7. -- Amended 1958 Ky. Acts ch. 126, sec. 24. -- Amended
1954 Ky. Acts ch. 74, sec. 1. -- Amended 1946 Ky. Acts ch. 209, sec. 1. --
Recodified 1942 Ky. Acts ch. 208, sec. 1, effective October 1, 1942, from Ky. Stat.
sec. 2739g-34, 2739g-34a, 2739g-34b.
Notes of Decisions
Walden v. Commonwealth (1991)
ky · cites it 8×
“" KRS 189.520 which creates these presumptions expressly restricts their application to cases tried under KRS 189.”
North v. Russell (1976)
scotus · cites it 4×
“, on July 10, 1974, and charged with driving while intoxicated in violation of Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 189.520 (2) (1971).”
Speers v. Commonwealth (1992)
ky · cites it 10×
“KRS 189.520, which establishes the various presumptions of intoxication, contained the following language in subsection (6) in 1989 when these cases arose: Only a physician, registered nurse or qualified medical technician, duly licensed in Kentucky, acting at the request of the…”
Love v. Commonwealth (2001)
ky · cites it 2×
“010(1) or KRS 189.520(1), a breath, blood or urine test may be administered at the direction of a peace officer and in accordance with administrative regulations.”
Cook v. Commonwealth (2004)
ky · cites it 2×
“Those convictions, pursuant to Whitley Circuit Court indictment number 000391, were for DUI (first offense), an offense punishable at that time only by fine, KRS 189.520(2), KRS 189.990(10) (1970 statute versions), and involuntary manslaughter in the first degree, a felony…”
Commonwealth v. Robey (1960)
kyctapphigh · cites it 9×
“290, said Jefferson County Police officers arrested the defendant for a violation of KRS 189.520, commonly referred to as the drunken driving statute.”
Lynch v. Commonwealth (1995)
ky · cites it 4×
“A progression of the DWI legislation, with factors involved in this case, is as follows: The 1946 statute (KRS 189.520[2]) stated: "No person shall operate a motor vehicle on a highway while under the influence of intoxicating liquors or narcotic drugs.”
Jewell v. Commonwealth (1977)
ky · cites it 2×
“020; (2) Reception of evidence relating to his intoxication in terms of the presumptions enacted in KRS 189.520; and (3) Refusal to instruct on the defense of intoxication under KRS 501.”
Marcum v. Commonwealth (1972)
kyctapphigh · cites it 7×
“KRS 189.520 states in pertinent part: “(2) No person shall operate a motor vehicle anywhere in this state while under the influence of intoxicating beverages or any drug which may impair one’s driving ability.”
Commonwealth, Transportation Cabinet v. Tarter (1990)
kyctapp · cites it 7×
“The district court found that the appellee had no previous convictions for violations of KRS 189.520 or KRS 189A.010, and therefore granted the appellee’s application to driving school.”
Wells v. Commonwealth (1978)
ky
“This rule of law is not to be confused with the permissible use of the presumptions embodied in KRS 189.520(4). These statutory presumptions are legislative substitutes for expert testimony devised for prosecutorial convenience in narrowly limited situations.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 189.520(1) — 7 cases
Love v. Commonwealth (2001)
ky
“010(1) or KRS 189.520(1), a breath, blood or urine test may be administered at the direction of a peace officer and in accordance with administrative regulations.”
Walden v. Commonwealth (1991)
ky
“" KRS 189.520 which creates these presumptions expressly restricts their application to cases tried under KRS 189.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 189.520(2) — 6 cases
Cook v. Commonwealth (2004)
ky
“Those convictions, pursuant to Whitley Circuit Court indictment number 000391, were for DUI (first offense), an offense punishable at that time only by fine, KRS 189.520(2), KRS 189.990(10) (1970 statute versions), and involuntary manslaughter in the first degree, a felony…”
Marcum v. Commonwealth (1972)
kyctapphigh
“KRS 189.520 states in pertinent part: “(2) No person shall operate a motor vehicle anywhere in this state while under the influence of intoxicating beverages or any drug which may impair one’s driving ability.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 189.520(3) — 2 cases
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 189.520(3)(c) — 4 cases
Walden v. Commonwealth (1991)
ky
“" KRS 189.520 which creates these presumptions expressly restricts their application to cases tried under KRS 189.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 189.520(3)(e) — 1 case
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 189.520(4) — 5 cases
Wells v. Commonwealth (1978)
ky
“This rule of law is not to be confused with the permissible use of the presumptions embodied in KRS 189.520(4). These statutory presumptions are legislative substitutes for expert testimony devised for prosecutorial convenience in narrowly limited situations.”
Marcum v. Commonwealth (1972)
kyctapphigh
“KRS 189.520 states in pertinent part: “(2) No person shall operate a motor vehicle anywhere in this state while under the influence of intoxicating beverages or any drug which may impair one’s driving ability.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 189.520(4)(c) — 1 case
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 189.520(6) — 2 cases
Speers v. Commonwealth (1992)
ky
“KRS 189.520, which establishes the various presumptions of intoxication, contained the following language in subsection (6) in 1989 when these cases arose: Only a physician, registered nurse or qualified medical technician, duly licensed in Kentucky, acting at the request of the…”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 189.520(8) — 2 cases
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 189.520(c) — 1 case
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.