Police breathalyzer or blood test?

It depends on the state. The portable breathalyzer in the field is considered part of the field sobriety testing. If the officer contacts you for a lawful reason and then suspects that you may be under the influence of alcohol or drugs they can order you to exit the car and then request you perform voluntary field sobriety tests. If based on the totallity of the circumstances the officer suspects you are under the influence of alcohol or drugs they must place you under arrest and advise you of the express consent law. You are given the choice of a breath or blood test. If you take the breath test - the officer must inspect your mouth for foreign objects, adivse you not to burp, regurigitate or spit (to avoid bringing alcohol back into your mouth) and then have you wait at least twenty minutes before administering the breath test at the station or jail. If you take a blood test there is no mandatory waiting period.

As you probably know there are two parts to a DUI offense. The first is the administrative revocation with department of motor vehicles and the second is the criminal case which may result in a license suspension of it;s own. The time limit you may be referring to only applies to the DMV portion. The DMV rules state the test must be completed within two hours of driving. The court doesn't have a minimum or maximum limit.

If you fail the chemical test - your license is suspended but you are elgible for a interlock license after only 30 days. If you refuse to take the test your license is suspended for one year with no option for a red license or interlock.

The typical adult male processes alcohol in his system at the rate of .015 per hour.

So if you were at the legal limit of .08 grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath and the officer waited your breath alcohol would decrease .015 to .065 which is below the legal limit. If you consumed alcohol right before the traffic stop - you are correct as the alcohol gets processed into your blood stream it might go up a little before going down.

Hope this helps - don't take a chance use a taxi

Breathalyzer Vs Blood Test

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Police breathalyzer or blood test?

You're pulled over for driving erratic. The police officer smells alcohol on your breath and you refuse the breathalyzer test. He tells you that you will have to give a blood test. You agree. Now how long or how fast should the cop administer the test? Obviously the longer you wait the higher...

The longer you wait, the higher your BAC does have a LIMITED ring of truth, but it can also work against you.

If you just had a few beers close together less than 30 minutes before being stopped, then you may benefit from an early BAC test before the alcohol gets into your blood stream.

If your beers were earlier before being stopped, your BAC could be lower the longer you wait.

In almost all cases, the longer you can wait, the lower your BAC might be if it has been at least 1 hr since your last drink. Alcohol starts coming down about 1 hr after your last drink.

It's a crap shoot. Which risk do you want to take?

Toxicologists actually have charts the extrapolate the rise and fall of BAC, based on the time of arrest, time of the test and probable time of the defendants last drink. While it doesn't come into play to often, those calculations are done by experts in the event the defendant decides to plead not guilty. And, in almost all Homicide by Vehicle while DUI cases.

The blood test is always a better choice. Most departments wait 20 minutes after arresting you before having the blood drawn. The reason is in the post above.

Leonard Reynolds and Tyrone Roberts posted the same question. You should read the answers side by side.

Great question, hope people can give some insightful answers