DUI Myths and Facts

Driving Under Influence: Top Facts & Myths

All people who have ever been pulled over for DUI, have been arrested or are in danger of being so need to consider the following facts and fiction about what’s true in DUI and what is not.

Myth: Field Sobriety Tests accurately identify who’s intoxicated because they are based on scientific evidence

Fact: According to Clemson University scientists, this is not true. A study conducted involved a video showing police officers conducting field sobriety tests on six individuals. In the video, the officers were asked to determine if the individuals were intoxicated and while, none of the individuals were actually drunk, the officers believed almost half of them to be drunk.

Myth: If an intoxicated person sucks on pennies, their BAC reading will be lowered.

Fact: Untrue! Sucking on pennies or any other type of copper will not reduce your Blood Alcohol Concentration; it will only make you look silly!

Myth: People, who don’t drink, can never be arrested for drunk driving.

Fact: Surprisingly untrue! Some people can be arrested on suspicion of DUI who don’t drink because the human body also naturally produces some amount of alcohol on a continuous basis which is independent of how much alcohol we consume. Sometimes, people whose bodies are producing more alcohol on a continuous basis can be enough for them to qualify for alcohol intoxication and therefore, liable to be arrested for DUI.
 

Myth: Diabetics who are suffering from slurred speech, hypoglycemia, staggering, disorientation, drowsiness, poor motor control etc. will be cleared by the Breathalyzer but will fail the field sobriety tests.

Fact: The breathalyzer will detect the acetone on the breath of diabetic people suffering from hypoglycemia and therefore almost, one of the seven people who are diabetic is at the risk of false arrest and conviction of DUI.

Myth: Breathalyzers and other breath tests are scientifically accurate.

Fact: Breathalyzers can often be inaccurate! Even if the common problems present in breathalyzers are not present, still, the tests will lack accuracy, at least to a certain degree. According to law professor and attorney Lawrence Taylor, “Scientists universally recognize an inherent errorin breath analysis, generally of plus or minus .01%.” This is a very common misconception that breathalyzers are accurate and even courts recognize the inaccuracy that is often present in breath test results and even in ideal conditions, a BAC of 0.08 actually means a BAC reading of 0.07 or 0.065.

Myth: Police officers and other law enforcement officers cannot influence the BAC reading of a breath testing machine.

Fact: Unfortunately, law enforcement officers can influence the results of a breath test and many times, they do.

According to Dr. Michael Hlastala, Professor of Physiology, Biophysics and Medicine at the University of Washington: "By far, the most overlooked error in breath testing for alcohol is the pattern of breathing.... The concentration of alcohol changes considerably during the breath...

The first part of the breath, after discarding the dead space, has an alcohol concentration much lower than the equivalent BAC. Whereas, the last part of the breath has an alcohol concentration that is much higher than the equivalent BAC. The last part of the breath can be over 50% above the alcohol level... .Thus, a breath tester reading of 0.14% taken from the last part of the breath may indicate that the blood level is only 0.09%."

Myth: Breath tests for alcohol basically measure the concentration of alcohol in a person’s blood stream.

Fact: Blood Alcohol Concentration is basically measured by analyzing a small sample of the blood so alcohol breath tests don’t really measure that. Alcohol breath testers basically measure the amount of alcohol in the blood after which the concentration of alcohol is estimated which is why this estimation is not heavily relied upon by most courts.

Alcohol breath testers mostly detect any kind of chemical compounds that contain the methyl group in its structure but there are thousands of such compounds in the blood and many of them are naturally occurring in the breath and are picked up otherwise (gasoline, paint, glue, new car smell etc.). Therefore, BAC measure is basically an estimate and is not directly measured by alcohol breath testers.

Myth: An individual that is accused of DUI or DWI has the right to contest the results of a BAC estimator machine considering that the results of a BAC estimator machine are questionable at best.

Fact: This is not true and according to the Bill of Rights and the United States Constitution, the right to a jury trial is fundamental to English law. The Sixth Amendment also grants the accused the right to a public trial by an impartial jury and there are present no exceptions to this right to a trial in all criminal cases.

However, many states will also tend to deny public trials even though you might have evidence that your BAC reading is erroneous and that you are innocent of DUI.

Richard Jacobs is a chief editor since early 2007, and he currently works for MyDUIattorney, a Website that helps you to find the right DUI lawyer. You can search for a Los Angeles DUI Lawyer or for DWI Lawyer New Jersey online, anytime!

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Advice on working with an attorney

Many people assume an attorney is all-powerful or can work some kind of legal magic, just by dint of being an attorney. The reality is quite different. Look in your own line of work, and what do you see? People of differing abilities and work ethics, for one thing. And how many problems come up that even your best people have difficulty solving? How many projects go bad?

An attorney is just another person working in a specific field. It happens to be law. That is, some area of law. An attorney who doesn't have significant experience and/or training in the area of law that concerns you probably isn't going to do as well as one who does. There are so many "gotchas" in law, it borders on the absurd.

Your attorney isn't your buddy. Your attorney is a contractor you pay, and pay well. Usually by the hour. Don't waste your attorney's time with complaining or by seeking explanations of things you can look up on your own.

Your attorney's success is contingent upon such factors as:

• Your accuracy. Don't guess at the answers your attorney needs. Look things up. If your attorney asks how much you made last year, for example, produce your tax return rather than flip a number off the top of your head.
• How honest you are. Lying to your attorney is generally a dumb approach. It can get your attorney into trouble and is likely to undermine your case.
• How open you are. Hiding information from your attorney, even if you think it's irrelevant can easily result in a courtroom surprise that destroys any chance of winning your case.
• Your ability to stay out of trouble. Getting arrested, even on some unrelated charge, while your case is pending makes extra trouble for your attorney to handle.
• How well you articulate your side of the story. You don't need to be a polished speaker, but you do need to be concise and direct.

Don't:

• Make statements about the other person's motivations. Your attorney can't prove such allegations, so they are worthless.
• Produce forged documentation for your attorney to use. This creates a landmine that can not only blow up your case, but result in (further) criminal charges.
• Do or say anything that wastes your attorney's time.
• Yell at your attorney.
• Make disparaging remarks about the other side's attorney or anyone else involved in the case.
• Call your attorney for daily progress reports. This just wastes time.
• Text your attorney, unless told this is OK.
• Send your attorney long e-mails.
• Send your attorney paper, unless told this is preferable. Paper must be scanned and then shredded, creating extra work.

Do:

• Outline what you think the other person's viewpoint is. This will help you understand the whole case, and will show your attorney you seek this understanding.
• Provide any evidence you can locate or produce. This includes e-mails, photos, and receipts. Ask your attorney what evidence will help your case, and see about getting it.
• Think about how you can save your attorney time. Offer to do research, for example. "How about if I check that out for you?" Keep any reports to the attorney accurate and objective.
•  Treat your attorney with respect at all times.
• Behave in a professional manner. How you behave will affect how others perceive you, and that does affect the outcome of your case.
• If you have the OK to text your attorney, do this only rarely and when there is a good reason for it.
• E-mail your attorney with status updates or requests for information.
• Keep e-mail messages brief and limited to that which is most important and/or urgent.
• Convert paper to PDF and e-mail necessary documents to your attorney.

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