(MSC News)--If a driver suspected of driving impaired refuses a breath test, blood testing will be done instead.

That's the word in a press release issued Thursday by the Kansas Department of Transportation, in advance of this weekend's enforcement, known as “No Refusal Weekend” in Kansas.

The effort is being done through a joint arrangement between KDOT, the Kansas Attorney General's Office, and several law enforcement agencies in northeast Kansas.

A list of the counties taking part was not included with the news release.

It's being conducted in coordination with the underway Labor Day STEP campaign, which is focusing on impaired drivers, under the motto of “You Drink, You Drive, You Lose."

Jackson County Sheriff Tim Morse Friday issued a statement pertaining to the effort.

He says Jackson is “one of the first counties in Kansas that started using search warrants to obtain blood on DUIs.  Deputies are able to send search warrant applications to our judges electronically and can serve them on the scene. In fact, Jackson County is permanently a no refusal county.”

He adds that “Jackson County probably isn’t the county one should pick to drive drunk in.”

According to the KDOT news release, impaired drivers in Kansas cause 25 to 30 percent of traffic fatalities.
Kansas averages nearly five people injured every day and one person killed every three days in alcohol-related crashes.

The “No Refusal Weekend” enforcement campaign will run from Saturday through Sunday.