Before getting charged for DUI, the first thing that the police officer will ask you to do is subject yourself to a series of routine drunk driving tests to determine your blood alcohol content. You will immediately be charged with a DUI offense if your blood alcohol content is more than the limit set by the state, which is usually .08% or .10%.
There are several drunk driving tests that you will be subjected to when pulled over by a police officer. The most common of these tests is the standardized field sobriety test. This is administered by police officers directly on the field. They will have you stand on one leg for about half a minute, then walk and turn around. Likewise, you will be subjected to a horizontal or vertical gaze nystagmus. Here you will be asked to follow the movement of the penlight through your eyes. Failure in this test indicates drunk driving which will then submit you to blood alcohol content testing.
Another method of testing for your blood alcohol content is the Breathalyzer method. With this method, you will blow into the Breathalyzer which will determine the level of alcohol in your blood. Compared to the field sobriety test, breath analysis is a non-invasive method of measuring your blood alcohol level.
However, the drawback of this method is that it has some inaccuracies. The outcome of the test can be affected by a wide range of factors such as radio waves, alcohol content in the mouth, and certain medical conditions. Likewise, the police officer reading the results can also be prone to commit mistakes. While you have the right to refrain from being tested with the Breathalyzer, this would result to the immediate revocation of your driving privilege.
An alternative to the Breathalyzer method is chemical testing, such as urine or blood tests. While the breath analysis is conducted by police officers, the chemical tests is conducted by a hospital personnel. In a urine test, samples are collected and you will be closely monitored while undergoing the test in order to ensure that you will not use any device that will yield false negative results. With a blood test, blood will be extracted from a vein in your arm.
The main drawback of chemical tests is that they can give you discomfort. Aside from that, blood tests have the tendency to be invasive. Police officers are not trained to administer these tests because they are not qualified to read the results.
It is your right to refuse to subject yourself to field sobriety or chemical tests. When asked to submit to these tests, consult an Arizona DUI lawyer first. Having an attorney by your side can help ensure that your rights are not violated. An Arizona DUI lawyer knows their way around these laws so they can advice you on what needs to be done as far as your DUI case is concerned.