Anyone who has been pulled over and arrested on a DUI charge is likely to find the entire process very difficult and stressful. Additionally, with the reported increase in accidents involving drivers under the influence of alcohol or illegal substances, authorities are doing everything possible to prosecute all offenders. To prove that a person is driving under the influence, the stopping law enforcement officer has the option of asking the driver to take a roadside sobriety test or use a breathalyzer. A first course of action may be field sobriety testing which involves simple tests such as walking in a straight line, lifting one foot off the ground, touching the tip of the nose, etc.
However, these tests are not entirely reliable and the most common option used is the breathalyzer. A field breathalyzer is quick to use and basically involves breathing air into a device that is tested to determine if the driver has consumed too much alcohol to be on the road.
While breath tests are the preferred method of testing blood alcohol concentration at a highway stop, they are not as reliable or accurate as blood tests. But, for the case of DUI investigations, it is seen as an acceptable option, as long as it is administered in the correct way.
Breathalyzer tests are not complicated and are useful portable equipment for analyzing a sample, but the result generated by this device may not be as reliable as authorities would like you to believe. In fact, it has been reported that neither the BAC (blood alcohol content) spectroscopic test nor the breathalyzer test is 100% reliable. This is mainly related to the fact that alcohol does not affect everyone equally, as many people can consume quite a bit and still not get drunk.
Although the test may give a positive indication that the BAC reading is high, this does not actually confirm that the driver was under the influence of alcohol while in control of their vehicle.
Scientific studies have been conducted regarding the accuracy of breath alcohol tests, and their conclusion was that they are inherently unreliable. These studies have indicated that breath readings can be up to 15% off actual blood alcohol levels.
So, in the case of being pulled over for a DUI charge, you really don’t want the result of a breathalyzer to be the defining factor that determines the sentence issued. The best course of action is to contact a reputable and qualified DUI attorney who can use their knowledge of the law to help combat this crime.
A DUI charge is a serious offense that has the potential to lead to a variety of legal consequences, which may include prison time, attending alcohol or drug awareness classes, participating in community service, having to pay a high fine or loss of your driver’s license. There are situations in which the penalty imposed is more severe, such as having a minor on board at that time or not being a first offense.
In the approach to defending a DUI charge involving a breath test, any qualified criminal defense attorney will be aware that there could be various operational and theoretical issues. There are a variety of factors that can lead to the results of blood alcohol tests being considered unreliable, and they try to show that this type of data is not enough to prosecute. By using an attorney, it is possible to get the bottom line with a closed case or a sentence reduced to a minimum.