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Blood Alcohol Content
What is a breath test, and how does it measure BAC?
When a police officer stops a driver, he/she usually looks at the driver to see if he/she shows signs of intoxication. Next, the officer will likely give the driver field sobriety tests to assess the driver’s balance.
If the officer still suspects the driver drove while drunk, the officer will request that the driver submit to a breath test to determine the driver’s blood alcohol content (BAC). If the driver’s BAC is .08 or more, there is a presumption that the driver drove while intoxicated. If the BAC is .08 or less, the driver may still be charged with DWI. Usually, the officer will have to arrest the driver before requesting the breath test. The breath test is generally given at the police station after a 20-minute delay.
Drivers give implied consent to submit to a breath test if they are arrested for DWI. The driver can refuse the breath test, but the refusal will not be allowed in court. Additionally, the driver will faces fines for failing to submit to the test.
Our Watchung DWI lawyers can attack breath tests in different ways:
- The officer must be properly certified to administer the breath test and must perform the test correctly.
- Breathalyzers must be tested for accuracy on a regular basis.
There are many reasons why a test result might not reflect the driver’s BAC at the time he was driving. For example, the driver may have used mouth alcohol, which is not absorbed through the stomach and gives a false reading.
Hand-held tests may be used by the police officer, but these devices are generally not admissible in court. More sophisticated instruments, such as infrared devices, are required to prove BAC in court. Breath test machines must be scientifically reliable. One such machine, which is being considered for use in New Jersey, is the Alcotest 9510 – even though the reliability of this machine has been severely questioned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Blood and urine tests are also alternatives to breath tests.
What is blood alcohol concentration (BAC)?
Known as blood alcohol content or blood alcohol concentration, your BAC level is the most common metric used to measure alcohol intoxication. If you are pulled over and suspected of drunk driving in New Jersey, a law enforcement official most likely checks your BAC to see if you are above the level of legal intoxication.
Illegal Blood Alcohol Concentration Levels In NJ
In New Jersey, it is illegal for a person over the age of 21 to drive with a BAC greater than 0.08%. But the New Jersey DWI penalties and fines vary according to what your specific BAC level is – in short, the drunker you are, the greater your punishment could be.
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- DUI with BAC of .15% or greater – seven months to one-year license suspension; up to 30 days imprisonment; over $3000 in fines, fees and surcharges; 12-48 hours of Intoxicated Driver Resource Center (IDRC) classes; ignition interlock device during license suspension and 6 months to one year following restoration
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- DUI with BAC of .10% or greater – seven months to one year license suspension; up to 30 days imprisonment; over $3000 in fines, fees, and surcharges; 12-48 hours of IDRC classes
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- DUI with BAC greater than 0.08% but less than 0.10% – three months license suspension; up to 30 days imprisonment; over $3000 in fines, fees, and surcharges; 12-48 hours of IDRC classes
What is an underage DUI?
If you are under 21 years old and are caught with a BAC of 0.01% or greater, you could be charged with a DUI. You might lose your license for 30 to 90 days, perform 15 to 30 days of community service, participate in IDRC classes, and pay fines, fees, and surcharges that could meet or exceed $3000.
We Understand How to Contest Breath Tests
The amount of blood alcohol content (BAC) in a driver’s system is used to determine what criminal charges should be brought. A driver whose BAC is .08 or more will be charged with Driving While Intoxicated (DWI). The penalties increase if the BAC is .10 or more, and increase even further if the BAC is .15 or more. A drunk driving conviction means jail time, huge fines, suspension of driving privileges, and increased insurance rates when you are allowed to drive again.
What is the Alcotest 9510?
In New Jersey, the police use a machine called the Dräger Alcotest® 7110 to test a driver they think may have a blood alcohol level of .08 or more. The machine generally uses two tests to determine the amount of ethanol alcohol in someone’s body. The first test is an infrared light test that the officer uses to determine how much infrared light is transmitted from a source to a detector without the presence of alcohol. In the second test, the driver breathes into the machine. Because alcohol absorbs infrared frequencies, the amount of infrared light passing through it changes. The amount of the change is used to determine how much alcohol the driver has in his system. Typically, a third breath test is administered to verify the consistency of the results. Another type of Alcotest analysis uses electrochemical analysis to determine the blood alcohol level.
Using the Alcotest 7110 is highly complicated. The officer conducting the test must complete several steps to ensure the machine produces accurate results. In addition to the three tests, the officer must check the ambient air in the machine. The driver must blow into the machine for 4.5 seconds and blow in specific amounts of air. There are also strict time limits between each test that must be met.
The reliability of breath tests also depends on various factors, including the driver’s weight, body temperature, and metabolism.
The Dräger Alcotest 9510 is a new breath test machine being used in other states. The reliability of the tests from this machine is being contested in these states. Massachusetts recently disqualified all Alcotest 9510 tests taken before September 14, 2014.
Operator certification requirements
New Jersey law N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.3 requires that breath tests be administered only by police officers who are properly certified as breath test operators. The certificate must be valid at the time the test is given.
Our New Jersey DWI lawyers:
- Demand that the operator physically produce the certification card.
- Inspect the card to ensure it hasn’t expired. Breath test operators need to be recertified every several years.
- Examine the card to see if it was signed and dated appropriately.
If the card is defective in any way, the operator does not have the authority to give the test.
Reasons breathalyzer test results can be thrown out
The challenges to the Alcotest 7110 that our lawyers make are:
- That the operator was not correctly certified
- The operator failed to follow the complicated steps in the correct order, at the right time, and in the right way
- That the machine was not properly calibrated and was not in working order
Breathalyzer machines like the Alcotest 7110 must be regularly maintained and recalibrated to ensure accuracy. If a machine is not timely checked, then the breath test results are invalid. Calibration is a complex process that must be done accurately.
Similar challenges are made to other breath test machines that might be used.
Learn how your drunk driving test might be inadmissible in New Jersey
There are many defenses to a DUI in New Jersey. The police may not have reasonably suspected you committed a traffic offense. The officer may not have seen you driving. A primary defense of drunk driving charges is to show that the test used to determine your BAC was unreliable. At Aiello, Harris, Abate Law Group PC, our New Jersey drunk driving attorneys have achieved considerable success in demonstrating that the breath test was conducted improperly.
Learn your rights if arrested for a DWI/DUI in NJ
DUI/DWI convictions can alter your life. You will likely be required to spend time in prison. The costs can be astronomical. The conviction will remain on your criminal record unless arrangements can be made to expunge it. It will take years before insurance premiums are affordable again. There are ways the charges can be challenged. To learn your rights and speak to a strong advocate, please call the New Jersey DWI attorneys at Aiello, Harris, Abate Law Group PC for help.
NJ DWI / DUI / DUID Resources
Laws Related To DUI In New Jersey
- What is the difference between DWI and DUI in New Jersey?
- In New Jersey, the penalties escalate for subsequent DUI offenses
- What is the 10-year step-down rule in New Jersey?
- What is IDRC? How does it apply in a third-offense DUI case?
Field Sobriety Tests
- What is the purpose of the field sobriety test?
- Things to know about DUI checkpoints
- When will a driver be asked to undergo the field sobriety tests?
- Are physical disabilities a factor in the performance of the field sobriety test
- Common misconceptions about the field sobriety test
- How important is the video recording of a police officer’s stop to the defense of a DUI charge?
- Case history: defending the results of the field sobriety test
Drug-Related DUI
- Common misconceptions about drug-related DUI charges in New Jersey
- Common scenarios resulting in drug-related DUI charges
- The rights of an individual regarding illegal search and seizure
- Potential penalties resulting from drug-related DUI charges in New Jersey
- Challenging aspects of defending drug-related DUI from an attorney’s perspective
- Metabolites are defined as molecules from a scheduled controlled drug
- The qualities to look for when looking to hire an attorney to defend drug-related DUI charges
DUI General Information
- FAQs About DUI Defense
- What are per se violations?
- What will occur after a DUI arrest in New Jersey?
- What kind of problems can a DWI convict face?
- Criminal defense is an area of the law that significantly impacts clients’ lives.
DWI / DUI / DUID Useful Tips & Issues
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