Raleigh DUI lawyer comments on limitations of breathalyzers

Raleigh DUI lawyer comments on limitations of breathalyzers.

This Raleigh DUI lawyer has previously commented on the limitations of breathalyzer devices. Now, let me give you a few specific examples of industrial compounds leading to erroneously high breathalyzer results. As I commented a few threads ago, the breathalyzer detects any compound from the methyl group — which includes “drinking alcohol” as well as a variety of other non-drinkable alcohol, solvents, etc. Like “drinking alcohol” these other varieties can be inhaled or otherwise absorbed into a human’s blood — and, later be misconstrued as signs of intoxication.

Not buying it? Consider the following — several years ago a test subject entered a small, enclosed, poorly ventilated room and applied contact cement to a large piece of plywood. Then, he painted another piece of plywood with oil-based paint. The two tasks lasted about an hour. He was subsequently given a breathalyzer test and despite having drunk no alcohol, blew a 0.12% — well over the legal limit.

In another test, a painter spray painted a room (using normal lacquer spray paint) and although he wore a protective mask — managed to blow a .075% on a breathalyzer after completing the task — almost over the legal limit, even though he hadn’t even consumed any alcohol. A few minutes later, the same painter, entered the same room without a protective mask to do some final touch-ups with his spray painting and upon exiting — blew a .48% on the breathalyzer (over five times the legal limit), again, without consuming any alcohol.

And how long do ethyl alcohol compounds from paints, oils, etc. stay in the blood after they are absorbed? Unlike “drinking alcohol” that will drastically begin to dissipate within a few hours, other ethyl alcohol compounds can stay in the blood for several days! Keep that in mind the next time you’re going to Paint & Drive!

Contact a Raleigh DUI lawyer

As always, if you or a loved one has been arrested for DUI in Raleigh or the surrounding areas, contact a Raleigh DUI lawyer right away.

Raleigh DUI lawyer comments on nystagmus test

Raleigh DUI Lawyer & Nystagmus Test

This Raleigh DUI lawyer recently blogged about the nystagmus test, one of the DUI/DWI sobriety tests utilized by law enforcement officers throughout North Carolina to determine whether a DUI/DWI subject may be intoxicated. Today, I’d like to discuss in a bit more detail how an officer goes about “scoring” the test.

As I stated last time, nystagmus is an involuntary jerking of an individual’s pupil that typically occurs as the gaze is cast to the extreme right or left trajectory. If the individual is intoxicated, however, the nystagmus (or jerking of the pupil) will occur much earlier (ie – before the gaze is cast all the way to the left or right).

According, to most authorities on the subject, an individual’s blood alcohol level can be estimated by subtracting the angle at which nystagmus first occurs from 50 (the figure is taken from 50 degrees – presumably if the nystagmus first occurs when the gaze is cast at a 50 degree angle, the individual has probably not consumed any alcohol). So, for example, if the nystagmus first occurs at at a 40 degree angle, the officer would estimate the individual’s blood alcohol level to be about 0.10% (just over the legal limit).

I commented last time about the challenges in accurately estimating the angle at which nystagmus occurs. Well, let me demonstrate how very minor errors in an officer’s estimation, can lead to drastically different test results.

Consider this: if an individual has a blood alcohol level of 0.05% (two or three drinks for most people and under the legal limit), the nystagmus should occur at about a 45 degree angle. Now, let’s assume the same individual has a blood alcohol level of 0.30% (almost 4 times the legal limit – blackouts are common at this level), the nystagmus should occur at 20 degrees. You see, the difference between someone who is legally sober enough to drive and someone who is extremely drunk to the point of blackouts, is only 25 degrees!

Ok, now that may be a very extreme case, so let’s scale it back a little. How will the nystagmus differ if an individual’s blood alcohol level is 0.08% (legally drunk and unlawful to operate a motor vehicle) as opposed to 0.05% (again, two or three drinks for most people and under the legal limit)? You got it….3 degrees.

Contact a Raleigh DUI lawyer

If you or someone you know has been arrested for DUI in North Carolina, contact a Raleigh DUI lawyer.

Raleigh DUI lawyer comments on very high BAC cases

Raleigh DUI lawyer comments on very high BAC cases

This Raleigh DUI lawyer was in court recently and happened upon a case in which a DUI/DWI defendant (he was not my client) allegedly was arrested while driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.341% (more than four times the legal limit). I couldn’t help but wonder: is that some sort of a record? Suprisingly, no.

In November 2007, a woman in Oregon was found passed out in her car by law enforcement officers. A blood test subsequently revealed her blood alcohol level to be 0.550%. She was charged with several offenses, including DUI/DWI, reckless endangerment of a person, criminal mischief and driving with a suspended license.

Later that same year, another Oregon woman (what’s with Oregon?) was found unconscious in her car after apparently striking a snow bank. After a police officer broke a car window to remove her and determined that she was in an alcohol induced-coma, she was taken to the hospital where blood tests revealed her blood alcohol level to be 0.720%. She was subsequently charged with D.U.I./D.W.I.

In December 2009, a South Dakota woman was found behind the wheel of a stolen car with a blood alcohol level of 0.708%. Incredibly, after being hospitalized and released on bond she was found the following day in another stolen vehicle and, you guessed it, under the influence of alcohol.

Finally, in December 2004, a man was admitted to a hospital in Bulgaria after being struck by another car. After determining that the man was likely intoxicated, doctors at the hospital conducted a breath test which revealed the man’s blood alcohol level to be 0.914%!

Okay, I’m a little suspect of the 0.914% test results – but wow! You may also be surprised to hear that many of these individuals were charged with DUI/DWI even though they were not actually driving a vehicle at the time they were apprehended. North Carolina (and Raleigh/Durham/Cary) have some very specific laws on exactly that issue — more on that next time!

Contact a Raleigh DUI lawyer

If you or someone you know has been arrested for DUI in North Carolina, consider contacting an experienced Raleigh DUI lawyer.

Raleigh DUI lawyer comments on technology to detect sobriety checkpoints

Raleigh DUI lawyer & sobriety checkpoints.

This Raleigh DUI lawyer thinks that modern technology may be catching up with DUI law enforcement officers with regard to sobriety checkpoints. Indeed, many GPS systems and other location tracking devices are not able to indicate when and where sobriety checkpoints have been set up. In addition, motorists can pay to receive text and/or cell phone updates on the presence of sobriety checkpoints.

Providers of such sobriety checkpoint notification services claim that notifying people of the existence of checkpoints actually helps reduce drunk driving. “If you know there’s a crackdown for DUI, then you’re most likely not going to do it,” says Jonathan Milman, co-creator of one of the DUI notification services. “Why do people put a home security sign in front of their house? It’s to stop the burglar from coming in, in the first place. That’s the purpose of DUI checkpoints. It’s to stop people from driving drunk in the first place.”

Not surprisingly, law enforcement officers have a different take on sobriety checkpoint notification systems.

“If that were to occur, it could cause someone to go ahead and drink and drive because they think they’ve got a free pass,” said Captain Paul Starks, a police officer in Maryland. “I don’t know that we’re going to ever be interested in letting people know exactly where our DUI checkpoints are,” said Starks.

Contact a Raleigh DUI Lawyer

As always, if you or a loved one has been arrested for DUI/DWI in Raleigh or the surrounding areas of Wake County, North Carolina, please contact a Raleigh DUI lawyer immediately.

Raleigh DUI lawyer comments on prohibition of checkpoints

This Raleigh DUI lawyer has written extensively about sobriety checkpoints. Now comes word that the prohibition of such practices may be a growing trend. Consider the following story originally published in the Providence Journal:

PROVIDENCE — Two Democratic House lawmakers have introduced a bill that would outlaw roadside police checkpoints used to identify drunken drivers.

Rep. Charlene Lima is the bill’s prime sponsor. She said the checkpoints violate people’s civil rights, and “smack of a police state.”

Law enforcement agencies and Mothers Against Drunk Driving defend the practice, citing the state’s high alcohol-related deaths.

Police checkpoints have been illegal in Rhode Island since a court ruling in 1989 that they violate search and seizure provisions in the state Constitution. The U.S. Constitution allows them.

Attorney General Patrick Lynch wants the state Supreme Court to revisit the ban.

Gov. Don Carcieri has not decided whether to approach the court. His spokesman said he’s working with state police on possible other solutions.

Rhode Island is one of 11 states that prohibit the practice.

Contact a Raleigh DUI lawyer

As always, if you or a loved one has been arrested for DUI/DWI in the Wake County area of North Carolina, please contact a Raleigh DUI lawyer right away.

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