When a cop suspects a driver of being intoxicated, he/she will instruct the driver to pull over. Typical reasons for being stopped by a roadside cop include speeding, reckless driving or violating some other traffic rule. Bad driving does not necessarily mean that you are drunk, but the traffic police have to be sure. Fleeing from the cop or being abusive towards them is not an option; the right attitude is to comply and cooperate. Once you have pulled over, the cop will interrogate you in order to confirm their suspicions. They may proceed to conduct DUI testing to check your level of sobriety or measure the amount of alcohol in your blood stream.
If the DUI test results convey that your senses are impaired or that your BAC levels exceed the threshold level (0.08%) then DUI charges ensue. Driving under the influence of alcohol is a serious criminal offense, which is usually charged as a misdemeanor; nonetheless, it goes on your permanent criminal record and becomes a social stigma. The following testing procedures are frequently employed for estimating the severity of intoxication:
1. Field Sobriety Tests
Most cops start with field sobriety tests, since they don’t require any equipment or specialized training. These tests are convenient, but imprecise compared to other kinds of DUI testing procedures. Field sobriety tests including the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus, one leg stand, and the walk in a straight line and turn test are designed to gauge the subject’s reaction time, physical coordination, and balance. More than often these tests are enough to determine whether a driver is intoxicated. On the other hand, many people fail these tests despite being completely sober.
Majority of alleged offenders are able to beat DUI charges by demonstrating that their poor performance in field sobriety tests owes to an underlying health condition. It is safe to say that people who are both mentally and physically fit are the ones likely to succeed. Moreover, old age, obesity, anxiety, clumsiness, and inappropriate footwear are frequently the cause of flunking these tests.
2. DUI Breath Test
Many traffic cops carry a Breathalyzer with them and ask DUI suspects to blow in it to collect a sample of their breath. The primary concern with DUI breath tests is that they measure the alcohol content in your exhaled breath rather than your blood stream, which makes them largely unreliable. It is possible that the percentage of alcohol in your blood in negligible, yet surprisingly high in your mouth. For example, you may have used an alcohol based mouthwash that messes with the reading on the breathalyzer.
Not to mention, acid reflux, belching, coughing, and vomiting can also increase the BAC levels in your breath, which is never a true representation of alcohol in your bloodstream. Other than that, faults with the testing instrument are also quite common. Breathalyzers often lack proper calibration or malfunction due to lack of maintenance, and this leads to misleading results.
3. DUI Chemical Tests
The chemical blood test is the most reliable method of measuring alcohol content in the blood stream. A trained professional is called in to extract a blood sample from your body, and this sample is sent for testing at a certified laboratory. It is of utmost importance that the blood is properly withdrawn and stored for transporting to the lab. Improper storage can cause contamination, coagulation, or decomposition of the sample, and thereby disrupt the test results.
Sometimes, the suspect is required to provide a urine sample; this could be the case if the means to take and test a breath or blood sample are unavailable. A urine test is rarely used for estimating BAC levels, and it doesn’t do well in terms of accuracy.
Conclusion
When the results of a DUI test are positive or indicate unacceptable BAC levels, it is comprehensible to be alarmed. The situation can be extremely confusing if you were actually sober or overwhelming if you were indeed driving under the influence. Whatever the case, do no panic and do something that makes it impossible to redeem yourself. You must keep your calm and plead ‘not guilty’ because all kinds of DUI test results are contestable. The best course of action is to hire DUI Defense Attorney in San Rafael, CA, since this will significantly improve your chances of beating the charges and preventing conviction.
