If you operate a vehicle in California, police officers can and will pull a person over anytime they are suspected of driving while intoxicated. This article briefly outlines the type of field and chemical tests that are administered by officers to determine if a person has indeed been drinking and driving.
Field Sobriety Tests
Police officers call Field Sobriety Tests "FSTs" for short. These tests consist of several exercises that measure a person's coordination, balance and divided attention. These tests consist of exercises such as "walk the line", saying the alphabet, one-leg-stand, walk-and-turn, horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) which is following an object with your eyes from side to side, etc.
Blood Alcohol Tests
In DUI cases, you'll often hear the term "B.A.C.", which stands for "Blood Alcohol Content". In the state of California, you can be arrested and charged with drunk driving if your B.A.C. is over 0.08%. To find out a person's blood alcohol content, police officers use breath analyzing machines. However, you have the option of asking for a second blood test if you want a second opinion. This second test is administered by an independent source and you have to pay for it. Police officers do not have sufficient enough training to do this type of blood test. A hospital staff will have to do the test.
Breath tests only measure alcohol and have often found to be inaccurate by DUI defense lawyers. There are many factors that can affect the result of a breath test including a person's temperature, breath patterns, and other substances in your breath. There are several types of breath analyzing machines on the market and they must be taken care of properly to be effective. Sometimes these breath analyzing machines are not highly maintained which could bring about an incorrect B.A.C. reading.
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