Anyone who has been pulled over and arrested for a DUI charge is likely to find the entire process very difficult and stressful. Additionally, with the reported increase in crashes involving drivers under the influence of alcohol or illegal substances, authorities are doing their best to prosecute all offenders. To prove that a person is driving under the influence, the law enforcement officer who made the stop has the option of asking the driver to take a roadside sobriety test or use a breathalyzer. A first course of action may be the field sobriety test 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 analyzed to determine if the driver has consumed too much alcohol to be on the road.

While breath tests are the preferred method of assessing blood alcohol concentration at a roadside stop, they are not as reliable or accurate as blood tests. But, for the case of DUI investigations, it looks like an acceptable option, as long as it is administered in the right way.

Breathalyzer tests are uncomplicated and are a handy portable piece of equipment for testing a sample, but the result generated by this device may not be as reliable as authorities would like you to believe. In fact, neither the spectroscopic BAC (blood alcohol content) test nor the breathalyzer test has been reported to be 100% reliable. This is mainly related to the fact that alcohol does not affect everyone equally, since many people can consume quite a lot and still not get drunk.

Although the test may give a positive indication that the BAC reading is high, it 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 event of being pulled over for a DUI charge, you really don’t want a breathalyzer result to be the defining factor that determines the sentence handed down. 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 felony that has the potential to lead to a variety of legal consequences, which may include a prison term, attending alcohol or drug awareness classes, participating in community service, having to pay a high fine or the loss of your driver’s license. There are situations where the penalty imposed is more severe, such as having a minor on board at the time or not being a first offence.

In the approach to defending a DUI charge that involves a breath test, any qualified criminal defense attorney will be aware that there could be several theoretical and operational issues. There are a variety of factors that can lead to blood alcohol test results being considered unreliable, and attempt to show that this type of data is not sufficient to prosecute. By using an attorney, it is possible to get the end result with a case closed or a sentence reduced to a minimum.