Breath test devices, commonly known as "breathalyzers," can be used to convict a motorist of driving under the influence of alcohol on the streets of the Tampa bay area. The Florida statute provides that driving with a blood alcohol concentration, or BAC, of 0.08 percent or higher is definitively (or "per se") driving under the influence. The language means that anyone who is driving, or otherwise in "actual physical control" of a motor vehicle, who blows a 0.08 percent BAC or higher on a breathalyzer device, can be convicted of DUI/DWI.
Unfortunately, experienced criminal defense attorneys know that DUI is more complicated. In fact, many experts in DUI dispute the accuracy of breath testing devices. These breathalyzers are known for false positives for a variety of reasons, including chemicals released from certain kinds of dental work and mouth alcohol.
The breathalyzer machine, which is imperfect, is designed to measure certain alcohol-related or alcohol-based chemicals. This is why is detected breath alcohol, but also why a person who is on a ketogenic diet (such as Atkins) can cause the breathalyzer to have a false positive. Similarly, a diabetic whose blood sugar has spiked to very high levels can also show a false positive result. Perhaps most problematically of all, however, is the fact that it is widely accepted that there is a margin of error for these devices, which is conservatively estimated at 0.01 percent BAC. This means that someone whose blood alcohol concentration registers at 0.08 percent BAC, whose reading is actually based legitimately on the consumption of alcoholic beverages, probably actually has a BAC between 0.07 and 0.09 percent.
If you have been arrested in the Tampa bay area or anywhere else in Florida for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, including prescription medications, contact the DUI lawyers at Musca Law as soon as possible to discuss your case and your rights under the law.
