# Breathalizer test **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 8, 2013, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breathalizer-test/662919 "2013-07-08T06:07:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breathalizer-test/662919/81 "2013-07-10T22:21:57Z")
> [@The Great Sun Jester](#): > > Failure to do the A,B,Cs backwards =/= impaired > Poor driving =/= impaired How about good dancing? I’ll admit, when I first watched [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDzcYerwE4s), while looking for different clip it wasn’t until about halfway through that I realized what was going on. I should have recognized Clem’s voice. I was honestly impressed at how fast he did the alphabet backwards. :smack: (I can do it backwards that fast, but I memorized it when I was bored in grade school). ---
**Author:** ![matt357](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@matt357](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt357)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breathalizer-test/662919/82 "2013-07-10T22:36:34Z")
> [@The Great Sun Jester](#): > > Nystagmus =/= impaired > Breath =/= impaired > Difficulty with balance =/= impaired > Failure to do the A,B,Cs backwards =/= impaired > Poor driving =/= impaired > > Put them all together and the good bet is you’re getting a free ride downtown. Are you wondering where the line is drawn? How many tests need to be failed? What are ya getting at? I know I coulden’t do my abc’s backwords sober and I bet you couldn’t either. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breathalizer-test/662919/83 "2013-07-10T22:41:28Z")
> [@matt357](#): > > I know I coulden’t do my abc’s backwords sober and I bet you couldn’t either. There are apparently many things you cannot do sober - ---
**Author:** ![matt357](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@matt357](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt357)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breathalizer-test/662919/84 "2013-07-10T22:57:55Z")
> [@simster](#): > > There are apparently many things you cannot do sober - What are you 12? ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breathalizer-test/662919/85 "2013-07-10T23:02:57Z")
> [@matt357](#): > > What are you 12? \ ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breathalizer-test/662919/86 "2013-07-10T23:03:28Z")
> [@matt357](#): > > What are you 12? You haven’t answered how old you are, why should they? **matt357** , WTF is the objective of this thread? You asked a question, it’s been answered, but all you want to do is argue and say “no it’s not”. I’ve given you answers based on my professional experience, real life examples, and cites to the law. But you obviously “know” the answer to whatever you’re looking for. You obviously know everything. Did you or someone you know get tagged with something and now you’re pissed and you want to take it out on us? Argue it to the DA, judge, or jury. IMHO you’re just being a dick. Let **Loach** deal with your teenage knowitallism horseshit. I’m out of here. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breathalizer-test/662919/87 "2013-07-10T23:08:31Z")
Pk, Thanks for the answer. Even though it was wasted on 357, I’d like you to know it wasn’t wasted on other readers. To those having difficulty understanding why it’s so difficult to get through to the OP, please take a look at his other threads. ---
**Author:** ![matt357](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@matt357](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt357)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breathalizer-test/662919/88 "2013-07-10T23:30:06Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > You haven’t answered how old you are, why should they? > > **matt357** , WTF is the objective of this thread? You asked a question, it’s been answered, but all you want to do is argue and say “no it’s not”. I’ve given you answers based on my professional experience, real life examples, and **cites to the law**. But you obviously “know” the answer to whatever you’re looking for. You obviously know everything. no you haven’t please note the area I put in bold. Like I said post one link to someone who was convicted based on what I said. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breathalizer-test/662919/89 "2013-07-10T23:46:12Z")
[California DUI fact sheet.](http://www.dmv.ca.gov/about/profile/rd/duistats89_99.htm) Notice the post conviction juvenile suspensions. Anyone under the age of 21 is not allowed to have _any_ alcohol in their system. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breathalizer-test/662919/90 "2013-07-11T01:04:50Z")
Well, there’s this article: [Single Glass of Wine Immerses D.C. Driver in Legal Battle](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/11/AR2005101101968.html) This is from several years ago, but I remember it making the local news. The woman was pulled over after leaving a restaurant and forgetting to turn her lights on and blew a .03. She was arrested and charged with DUI. Legal limit at the time was .08. From the article: In the District, a driver can be arrested with as little as .01 blood-alcohol content. As D.C. police officer Dennis Fair, who arrested Bolton on May 15, put it in an interview recently: “If you get behind the wheel of a car with any measurable amount of alcohol, you will be dealt with in D.C. We have zero tolerance. . . . Anything above .01, we can arrest.” Fair acknowledged that many people aren’t aware of the District’s policy. “But it is our law,” he said. “If you don’t know about it, then you’re a victim of your own ignorance.” From some of the numbers given in the article, it looks like DC police may average a DUI arrest per day with BAC under the limit (321 one year; 409 another). There was a huge outcry about this at the time and, IIRC, they’ve changed the policy. Restaurant owners, for example, were not happy with the idea of a glass of wine with dinner causing their customers to get locked up. I’m not interested in digging into how many were actually convicted, but I would imagine someone has been (730 arrests in two years). In this case (argue the pros and cons of her behavior as you like): On Aug. 22, after four court appearances, prosecutors dropped the charge. But she spent all of September battling the DMV to keep her driving privileges from being suspended for three months. And Karl Gauss must not be familiar with Doctor Johnny Fever from WKRP:) ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breathalizer-test/662919/91 "2013-07-11T01:14:23Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > “If you don’t know about it, then you’re a victim of your own ignorance.” I forgot to call dibs on this for a signature. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breathalizer-test/662919/92 "2013-07-11T02:26:55Z")
> [@matt357](#): > > no you haven’t please note the area I put in bold. Like I said post one link to someone who was convicted based on what I said. \*\*pkbites \*\*has given you first hand experience that people he has arrested with blood alcohol levels below the legal limit were prosecuted and convicted. If that’s not good enough for you then there’s not much we can do for you. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breathalizer-test/662919/93 "2013-07-11T02:33:22Z")
I don’t think anyone should even waste their time doing that until you lay out some ground rules lest we have some No True Scotsman/goal post moving issues… Here’s my post from earlier… > [@Joey\_P](#): > > No true Scotsman. > Also, you’re moving the goal posts again. You’ve now gone from “it’s very hard to convict them in court if they blow under .08” to “I am referring to is someone maybe slightly slurring or can walk a straight line fairly well maybe messing up a little bit, if they blow a .06 it would be impossible to convict them” and now you’re at “(or less like a .04)” > > So what do you want us to find? A DUI conviction with .08, .06 or .04. Oh and you just added that Arizona isn’t allowed to be used in our search. > > This really isn’t a fair debate. You need to write out exactly what you want. I’ll give you a starting point based on what you said. You’d like us to find a case where someone, over the age of 21 is convicted with an DUI but blows less then .08 with a Breathalyzer. In any US state other then Arizona. Does that sound fair? ---
**Author:** ![Mithras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mithras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithras)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breathalizer-test/662919/94 "2013-07-11T10:03:26Z")
Here’s two more people who were arrested for DUI while their BAC was under .08: [Football player Joe Burnett was at .046](http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2011-03-22/sports/os-joe-burnett-dui-arrest-20110322_1_joe-burnett-orlando-police-influence) [A guy from Florida was arrested with .059.](http://beatricedailysun.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/florida-man-arrested-in-dui-case/article_f5c961fb-55f6-5297-9799-60a62a74accc.html) Were either convicted? I don’t know. However, it’s clear to me that you can be breaking the law if driving while you’re under .08. Also, given the number of people asking about it on yahoo and the ask-a-lawyer sites what you can find reported in the news is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of how often people are arrested for it. ---
**Author:** ![matt357](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@matt357](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt357)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breathalizer-test/662919/95 "2013-07-11T10:26:02Z")
> [@Mithras](#): > > Here’s two more people who were arrested for DUI while their BAC was under .08: > > [Football player Joe Burnett was at .046](http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2011-03-22/sports/os-joe-burnett-dui-arrest-20110322_1_joe-burnett-orlando-police-influence) > [A guy from Florida was arrested with .059.](http://beatricedailysun.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/florida-man-arrested-in-dui-case/article_f5c961fb-55f6-5297-9799-60a62a74accc.html) > > Were either convicted? I don’t know. However, it’s clear to me that you can be breaking the law if driving while you’re under .08. Also, given the number of people asking about it on yahoo and the ask-a-lawyer sites what you can find reported in the news is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of how often people are arrested for it. The first link said he was given a citation, which is not the same as being booked as far as I know. It also didn’t say whether he was givin a breath test at the scene. If the cop didn’t have one mabye that’s why they took him in. It’s also unknown if he admitted to taking any medication to the cop. If the arrest report can be found it would explain that. The second link is moot because they found drugs on him (that he didn’t even have a prescription for) which he admitted to taking. ---
**Author:** ![Mithras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mithras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithras)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breathalizer-test/662919/96 "2013-07-11T11:04:39Z")
> [@matt357](#): > > The first link said he was given a citation, which is not the same as being booked as far as I know. It also didn’t say whether he was givin a breath test at the scene. If the cop didn’t have one mabye that’s why they took him in. It’s also unknown if he admitted to taking any medication to the cop. If the arrest report can be found it would explain that. The second link is moot because they found drugs on him (that he didn’t even have a prescription for) which he admitted to taking. Do you not see that the fact you can be arrested for a DUI for using a drug, regardless of the levels of that drug in your system, is the same as being arrested for drinking with a BAC under .08? In both cases, it is what the intoxicant has done to you that is at issue. Why is it so easy for you to accept the former and impossible to accept the latter? But I’m not going to get dragged into scouring the internet to find an incident where a reporter wasted their time watching and writing about a mundane DUI trial. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breathalizer-test/662919/97 "2013-07-11T11:28:36Z")
> [@matt357](#): > > The first link said he was given a citation, which is not the same as being booked as far as I know. It also didn’t say whether he was givin a breath test at the scene. If the cop didn’t have one mabye that’s why they took him in. It’s also unknown if he admitted to taking any medication to the cop. If the arrest report can be found it would explain that. The second link is moot because they found drugs on him (that he didn’t even have a prescription for) which he admitted to taking. You’re still ignoring the first person evidence from **pkbites** , care to address it? ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breathalizer-test/662919/98 "2013-07-11T11:59:11Z")
WTF does pkbites know? He’s just some guy on the internet who _claims_ to be a cop. And even if statistics like the OP is now demanding were kept, and posted on the intent, any links provided in here would be suspect because, well, you didn’t pick the right site–the data is probably skewed because of this or that. So let’s just settle this: Matt, go drink 2 beers and drive like shit. When a cop pulls you over, play the fool, act all dizzy and talk funny, count to 22 instead of doing your ABCs, and above all keep repeating what a great guy the cop is even though he’s a cop. Yours is the only experience that apparently matters to you so get out of your mom’s basement and get some. Let us know how it works out for you. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breathalizer-test/662919/99 "2013-07-11T12:26:11Z")
> [@The Great Sun Jester](#): > > WTF does pkbites know? He’s just some guy on the internet who _claims_ to be a cop. And even if statistics like the OP is now demanding were kept, and posted on the intent, any links provided in here would be suspect because, well, you didn’t pick the right site–the data is probably skewed because of this or that. So let’s just settle this: > > Matt, go drink 2 beers and drive like shit. When a cop pulls you over, play the fool, act all dizzy and talk funny, count to 22 instead of doing your ABCs, and above all keep repeating what a great guy the cop is even though he’s a cop. Yours is the only experience that apparently matters to you so get out of your mom’s basement and get some. Let us know how it works out for you. And Oakie isn’t really a criminal defense attorney who has defended such cases. I hear Oakie is actually an 18 year old red headed sex addict with a DD chest. So you obviously can’t trust their statements. There is a word that describes posters like the OP. Jerk? No I think it starts with a letter closer to the end of the alphabet. If only I could remember. ---
**Author:** ![Mithras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mithras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithras)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breathalizer-test/662919/100 "2013-07-11T12:49:30Z")
I guess because Arizona explicitly said they can charge you for having a BAC under .08, any cites in that state are off limits. Therefore, I want to warn anyone looking for a case to avoid Pennsylvania as well. From the [official PA DMV website](http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/legislation/dui.shtml): > [@](#): > > Evidence that a person drove, operated or was in control of a motor vehicle with a BAC of .08% or higher is enough by itself to convict the person of DUI. A person with BAC less than .08% might still be convicted of DUI is there is evidence that he or she imbibed enough alcohol to make him or her incapable of safely driving, operating or being in control of a motor vehicle. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breathalizer-test/662919.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breathalizer-test/662919.md?page=6)