At Total Lawyers, we know you've got DUI questions and we have answers. That's why we've compiled a list of the most frequently asked questions about DUIs.
DUI is an acronym for "driving under the influence." The influence usually involves alcohol and/or drugs. You will be charged with a DUI if you are caught by law enforcement operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol content of 0.08% or higher. In many states, you may also be charged with DUI at a lower BAC if you show signs of impairment. DUI may also be referred to as DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) and there is also a handful of states that use the term OWI (Operating While Intoxicated).
BAC is the amount of alcohol contained in your blood. BAC is expressed as a percentage when weighing the amount of alcohol in a certain volume of your blood.
Blood alcohol content is measured in four ways:
Law enforcement will usually administer the test immediately after you are stopped on suspicion of DUI. Currently, breath tests are used most frequently by law enforcement to gather evidence of a suspected DUI. The device used to administer a breath test is known as a breathalyzer.
Yes, there is a definite difference between the two. A breathalyzer does not read blood alcohol content, but rather it attempts to estimate it by measuring the amount of alcohol in your breath from your lungs. Breathalyzers translate breath alcohol content to BAC by assuming a specific ratio (2100:1) between the two. However, this ratio applies to the "average person," and may vary between 1700:1 and 2400:1 in different people. The fact that that this presumed conversion isn't accurate for every driver is one of the many reasons that breathalyzer test results are often challenged in court.
If you refuse the breath test, law enforcement must then decide if their "observations" amount to sufficient probable cause to arrest you on DUI. While you may refuse to take the breath test, please be aware that there are consequences to this decision. Some of the consequences include:
If you have further questions about the breath test, you should consult a skilled and experienced DUI attorney.
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) provides a standardized model for field sobriety testing. The NHTSA model requires the administration of three field sobriety tests.
The One Leg Stand Test;
The Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HTN) Test; and
The Walk and Turn (WAT) Test.
Field sobriety tests may be critical pieces of evidence in DUI cases where breath/blood tests have been found unreliable and suppressed, or when there was a refusal to take a breath test or blood test. Other times, these tests may not have much bearing in DUI cases.
Essentially, zero tolerance makes it illegal for any person under the age of 21 to operate a motor vehicle with any alcohol in his or her system. The phrase "Any alcohol" may vary from state to state, but is certainly different from being under the influence. In other words, the state does not have to prove impairment but rather must show that the driver had the designated concentration of alcohol in his or her blood. In most states, the "designated concentration" for underage drivers is .02%.