Potential Defenses to Breath Testing
At the law firm of Timothy Bussey, we are dedicated to personal care, aggressive representation, and high-quality service. We will work hard to defend you against drunk driving charges and the penalties that you are facing.
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On the surface, most citizens accept the readings of breathalyzer tests (or drunkometers as they used to be called) without much cynicism. The technology to determine blood alcohol levels via breath analysis has been around for more than 70 years. But even with many decades to perfect the technology, breathalyzer engineers and manufacturers have yet to build a perfect product. This isn't necessarily the engineers' fault. However, it's important to parse the ways in which breathalyzer tests can fail in order to provide just defenses for those accused of driving under the influence of alcohol.
In general, there are two arenas in which breathalyzer tests may be administered. One is by the roadside. The other is at a police station. The so-called Preliminary Breath Test (PBT) that officers use for roadside stops are subject to numerous kinds of errors, including maintenance issues, human error, malfunctions of the fuel cell technology that measures the alcohol in the breath sample, and problems due to the build up of chemical residues which can interfere with accuracy. In addition, PBT tests fail to guard against accidentally yielding high readings based on an artificially inflated alcohol sample. Breathalyzer tests conducted at police stations (which often use infrared beams to measure and quantify alcohol concentration in a sample) tend to be more accurate – but not perfect. These machines typically have what are known as slope detectors, which partially guard against accidentally high readings induced by mouth samples.
Given that everything from a poorly calibrated machine to an improperly administered test can yield positive results, it's important that defendants who've been arrested for DUI explore their legal options. You can turn to The Bussey Law Firm, P.C., to develop a powerful defense strategy. Given the harsh sentencing requirements that go along with DUI and DWI convictions in Colorado, it's important to lean on an experienced DUI defense lawyer, like Timothy Bussey. Read more about the practice on our DUI defense website, or schedule a free, confidential consultation with us by dialing (719) 475-2555.
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