Blood and Breath Tests
Arizona law makes it illegal to drive if your BAC or blood alcohol concentration is .08% or higher. Tests have shown that BAC is a relatively accurate way to judge the level of impairment of alertness, reaction time, inhibitions and coordination caused by drinking alcohol. In general, the higher your blood alcohol concentration, the more impaired you are.
Call an aggressive Arizona DUI Attorney if you've been arrested and asked to take any blood alcohol test.
Blood Alcohol Concentration Testing
There are two main methods of testing BAC used in Arizona: Breath tests and Blood tests.
Breath Tests are usually done with what is termed a PAS Device. PAS stands for Preliminary Alcohol Screening. They're also known as breathalyzers. When you blow into one of these devices, your exhaled air is trapped in a chamber and an electrical current is applied to the chamber to burn the alcohol in the chamber. The combustion is measured and the result is a number which is supposed to indicate your blood alcohol concentration.
The readings provided by these machines are fairly suspect in regards to accuracy. They don't have "slope detectors" which protect against artificially high readings caused by alcohol in the mouth. The readings are not specific to only alcohol, which means other substances can also trigger higher readings. And they can be subject to other errors caused by a lack of proper maintenance.
DUI Defense
Blood tests are by far the more accurate of the two types of testing. Blood is drawn from the driver either at a police station or at a local medical lab. Those samples are then analyzed for alcohol concentration.
If you are certain that your BAC is less than .08%, definitely ask for a blood test. The flip side of the argument is that if your test comes back over .08%, it is more difficult to contest the accuracy of the results.
Do you have to submit to a breath or blood test?
State law doesn't require you to submit to a blood or breath test. However, if you are found guilty after refusing, your penalties will be much harsher than they would have been if you had submitted to testing.
In addition, if you refuse to take a blood test or breath test, you automatically lose your drivers license for one year.
One right you should know about: you can request to have your tests taken by an independent laboratory. You'll have to pay for the results, but you will then have your own evidence to use in court to dispute any tests taken by the police. That can be well worth the price of the lab testing.
It is NOT like on TV's C.S.I. Shows
Breath and blood tests for DUI are prone to error even in the best of circumstances. Both tests can be compromised by human error, poor maintenance, faulty equipment, interference from outside sources (such as radio frequency interference), and other malfunctions.
If you were arrested after submitting to a breath or blood test, please waste no time in contacting Arizona DUI attorney Michael Urbano. He has extensive experience in successful DUI defense, and knows many effective ways to challenge the accuracy or admissibility of a breath or blood test in court.
Free Initial Consultation - Financing Available
At Urbano Attorney and Counselor at Law, we offer a FREE initial consultation on Arizona DUI cases. We also have convenient financing available to make it easier for you to get effective representation from a real Phoenix DUI attorney and not just a public defender.
Talk to an experienced Arizona DUI Attorney NOW!
If you need a DUI defense attorney, call 480-759-0035 day or night.
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