Alcohol & Drugs: DUI, DWI How accurate is a breath test

[alexanderkos]

Hello
I was pulled over and given a breath test. Then I was arrested and taken to the station. There I blew two times two minutes apart a .08 and .09. I was encouraged by personal at the station to ask for a wet and reckless. I am wondering why they would encourage that. Do I have a chance to question the accuracy of the breath test with two different readings. Is the machine inaccurate and would that be a good defense. Would a lawyer be able to have my charges reduced?

 

[CdwJava]

Hello
I was pulled over and given a breath test. Then I was arrested and taken to the station. There I blew two times two minutes apart a .08 and .09.

The standard and acceptable deviation is +/- .020. Your results were well within that deviation.

I was encouraged by personal at the station to ask for a wet and reckless. I am wondering why they would encourage that.

A "wet reckless" (per CVC 23103.5) is a charge often offered as part of a plea deal by the DA for first offenses where the BAC is at or very near .08. While the fines and penalties are almost as severe as a DUI and it counts as a prior for any FUTURE DUIs, it is not, technically, a DUI conviction. So, you can honestly tell an insurer or potential employer that you have never convicted of a DUI only of reckless driving. Your lawyer can give you more specifics as to how it might be handled where you are.

Do I have a chance to question the accuracy of the breath test with two different readings.

Yes. You can pay an attorney to go to trial and you can challenge the veracity of the machine. The attorney would likely run between $5,000 and $10,000 and then there would be the cost of an expert you might have to call in order to challenge the veracity of the machine.

As I mentioned, the acceptable deviation is +/- .020.

Is the machine inaccurate and would that be a good defense. Would a lawyer be able to have my charges reduced?

A lawyer can work out the wet reckless plea, or can arrange for a defense to the charges. if you intend to fight the charges, your best bet would be to go with an attorney that specializes in DUI. Be prepared to spend a lot of money if you go to trial. I suppose it is always possible that the officer wrote a poor report or the stop was bad. But, I have to tell you, that if there was good cause for the stop or contact, the officer or a witness can put you behind the wheel, and there was probable cause to make the arrest (in other words, it was likely you were impaired), then it's pretty much done. Anything beyond those pieces is an expensive 'hail Mary.'

 

[tpajet]

You could challenge this as you have stated, but you really have no chance of this. Keep in mind that blowing a .08 is PRESUMED to be a DUI. In other words, you could be driving straight as an arrow with no problem, but still be .08, and it's game over. And the reverse of that is you could blow a .05 and still be convicted of DUI based on your actions. How were you driving? What did the officer observe? Things like that. They don't need the BAC to convict you.