Blood alcohol level tests

How Accurate is a Houston Texas DUI Breath Test?

Aug 13th

Posted by author in Blood alcohol level tests

Reader’s Question:

I have been helping my brother through his DUI case in Houston, Texas for months now. I’ve done a good deal of research on this and I know that police officers are supposed to do tests on you on the spot if you’re suspected of DUI like the breath test. My brother says it took about more or less an hour for the police officer to do a breath test. Can this affect the accuracy of their charge against my brother’s case?

Frances

Houston, TX

You’re right to suspect the inaccuracy of the tests used for DUI arrests especially on how they’re applied. The breath test, the most common test that people take once they are taken to the police station, is already highly susceptible to error. If this test is not taken immediately or the timing was inaccurate, then it will not accurately measure the blood alcohol content and this can turn the tide on your brother’s DUI case. There are a lot of instances like this, especially in densely populated areas such as Houston, Texas, where the accuracy of the breath test alone has been the factor for judges to dismiss DUI cases.

For example, most testers assume that your normal breath temperature should fall on a certain level but studies have shown that some people can have higher breath temperatures due to many other factors that may not have anything to do with being intoxicated.

Your metabolism also plays a big role in how fast it absorbs and gets rid of the alcohol in the body, a slower metabolism means that you can still fail the breath test even if it’s been hours since your last bottle, this can be helpful in arguing your brother’s DUI case if you suspect him having slow metabolism. One should not be tested within 15 minutes after vomiting, hiccupping or belching since these increases the amount of alcohol in your breath. Dentures can trap the alcohol in your mouth too. I suggest you get a good idea if your brother’s using any products or medications that can have other chemical compounds that can come up as alcohol since the tester only detects part of the alcohol molecule called the methyl group and this can inflate the result of the test to your brother’s disadvantage.

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What Are The Common Houston DUI Field Sobriety Tests

Aug 1st

Posted by author in Blood alcohol level tests

Reader’s Question:

I have to be cautious now because I often drink and drive on a Friday night but I don’t wanna be charged with DUI. In a DUI case, what are the different field sobriety tests? If I will be caught drunk driving here in Houston, Texas, must I submit to these field sobriety tests and breath test?

Shana

Houston, TX

If a police officer pulls you over on suspicion for DUI in Houston, Texas, you can refuse to take the field sobriety tests if asked to because these tests are voluntary in the state of Texas. The standardized field sobriety testing model is created by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) which consists of the One-Leg-Stand Test, the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) Test, and Walk and Turn (WAT) Test. These field sobriety tests could be critical pieces of evidence in DUI cases if breath or blood tests have been found unreliable and suppressed, or if there was a refusal to take a breath test or blood test. But in other DUI cases, these tests could not have much bearing.

On the other hand, you must not refuse to take the breath test because that will lead to automatic suspension of your driver’s license and it could also be used as presumptive evidence against you and could carry additional civil or criminal sanctions.

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Can The Smell of Alcohol Be Enough in Houston DUI Arrest?

Jul 30th

Posted by author in Blood alcohol level tests

Reader’s Question:

I have read an article that alcohol may not be detected by merely the smell of it. If that is the case then, can we say that the odor of alcohol is not enough for DUI arrest in Houston, Texas?

Shanice

Houston, TX

Yes, the odor of alcohol is really not enough for a DUI arrest in Houston, Texas. A study shows that police may not be able to detect the odor of alcohol on the breath of motorists who are pulled over for investigation. The smell of an alcoholic beverage on the breath of a motorist is very often used by police to create reasonable belief that the person has alcohol in his/her body. A police officer who forms this kind of belief can demand that the person provide a sample of breath into a portable breath test (PBT) device. A person who registers positive on the PBT would be arrested for DUI and taken for breath tests to find out the amount of alcohol in his or her system.

In a recent study, 20 experienced police officers were asked to detect the odor of an alcoholic beverage on the breath of 14 subjects who had blood alcohol content (BAC) that ranges from .00 to .13%. The drinking subjects were not seen in the experiment. The odor of an alcoholic beverage was detected in 2/3 of the subjects for BACs that are below .08%, and 85% of the time when BACs exceeded .08%. The police observers were less successful in detecting the odor of alcohol after food consumption by the drinking subjects. Moreover, the officers were unable to recognize what type of beverage was consumed and it was found that the strength of the odor as noted by police doesn’t have correlation to BAC levels.

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Houston TX DUI Breath Test Refusal

Jul 25th

Posted by author in Blood alcohol level tests

Reader’s Question:

If I refused to take a breathalyzer test or any form of testing when found driving under the influence in Houston, Texas, would that automatically mean suspension of my driver’s license? And if yes, is there a way for me to prevent it?

Adrian

Houston, TX

When found driving under the influence in Houston, Texas, there is a process that you have to go through first before your driver’s license is suspended. After an arresting officer charged you for DUI, you have the right to what is called an Administrative License Revocation Hearing (ALR hearings). At the time of your arrest, you should receive a written notice about the suspension of your driver’s license. Then you will have 15 days from the date of receipt, to request in writing, a hearing from the Department of Public Safety (DPS) headquarters. If you fail to request a hearing, you will lose the right for ALR and your license will be suspended on the 40th day after receiving the notice.

If the officer did not give you a notice about your license suspension, you will still get a notice from DPS sent to you via certified mail. After receiving the DPS notice, you will have 15 days to file for a hearing instead of 15 days from the date of your arrest. A 5-day grace period is given after the notice is mailed, giving you 15 days to request for a hearing. But it is advised not to rely on receiving a notice from DPS to request a hearing or you might end up waiving the right for ALR.

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Blood Alcohol Test DUI Houston TX

Jun 29th

Posted by author in Blood alcohol level tests

Reader’s Question:

Does a person in Houston Texas have the option not to take a Breath or Blood Test?

Alison

Houston, TX

 

Alison the answer is yes. Even if Texas has an indirect consent law, a person arrested for DWI may turn down the test being asked for. This refusal may result to the following penalties: a 180-day suspension of your right to drive for a first DWI arrest, a 2-year suspension of your right to drive a vehicle for a following arrest within 10 years if you decline to submit to a test in your first arrest, and the prosecutor can disclose your refusal into evidence in your DWI trial. The prosecutor will then dispute that you refused the test because you knew you were too drunk and that you would fail the test.

If you give in to a test and fail, your right to drive can be suspended and the following consequences may happen: a 90-day deferral of your right to drive if your driving record shows no previous alcohol connected detention, a 1-year postponement of your right to drive if you have a previous arrest or suspension with the preceding 10 years, and the prosecutor can divulge the results of the test as proof at your DWI trial.
If you do not want to get a breath test, it is much better to tell the police officer that you want to speak to your attorney before making any decision, is different from refusing. Again, they probably will not give you the chance to talk to a lawyer, but there will be no test will that will still be given

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Blood Alcohol Level Test Houston Texas

Jun 23rd

Posted by author in Blood alcohol level tests

Reader’s Question:

My cousin was charged for DUI here in Houston. It is so hard to believe the accuracy of the tests being done by the police after being pulled over because of a traffic accident. How accurate and reliable are the means of the police to determine alcohol concentration?

Anne

Houston , TX

In the State of Texas , the law provides that testing of alcohol concentrations can be performed by analysis of a suspect’s breath, urine or blood. All of these methods of testing, however, leave much to be desired.

Blood testing is thought by the majority of forensic scientists to be the most reliable and accurate means of alcohol concentration determination. From a police perspective, though, it is also thought to be the least convenient and least desirable method of testing. Like the testing of urine specimens, it provides an opportunity for the suspect to recheck the blood test. The validity of the police test can be attacked by re-testing the exact specimen taken by police if found to be erroneous.

On the other hand, breath testing from a police perspective is the most convenient means of alcohol concentration determination. But there continues to be a heated debate among scientists. Breath samples are not preserved for subsequent checks of the initial test’s validity under current procedures for breath testing in Houston,Texas . Having a good DUI lawyer would definitely help your brother challenge the result of the breath test.

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