The Unreliability of Breath Testing in Florida, Part 1
The Miami DUI lawyers at Musca Law believe that every DUI defendant deserves a fair procedure - including accurate blood alcohol measurement. Unfortunately, that does not always occur. The use of the breath test by law enforcement officials to gauge a driver's blood alcohol content (BAC) is not as reliable as you may believe. In fact, there are a number of factors that could throw off your result. A good Miami DUI attorney can explain your DUI defense options to you, as well as the unreliable nature of breath testing.
For example, the Intoxilyzer breath testing device, known colloquially as a breathalyzer, is designed to be used on a man of fairly average proportions. The device measures the concentration of alcohol in the amount of air you blow into it. Unfortunately, since not every person is the same size, this causes an accuracy issue. A small woman is going to have less air to blow into the breath test machine. The measurement of the concentration of alcohol to air will be thrown off by the differing lung capacities of different people.
Another issue that differs from person to person is metabolism, or how quickly your body processes alcohol. Also, it takes awhile - experts say approximately 30 to 90 minutes - for the alcohol you consume to be absorbed into your bloodstream. That means if you drink a lot of alcohol just before getting into your vehicle for a short trip, your blood alcohol content may be quite low. However, if a police officer pulls you over and takes you into the station for an official breath test or a blood test half an hour later, substantially more alcohol will be absorbed. Your blood alcohol content at that point in time will not be the same as it was when you were driving.
For more information or if you have been charged with a DUI offense, contact the Musca Law Miami DUI attorneys. Florida law punishes driving under the influence severely, so it is vital to contact a DUI defense lawyer as soon as possible after your arrest.
The Associated Press report below discusses an extremely high breathalyzer reading:
