When drivers are pulled over by Athens-Clarke police officers after they have been drinking, they may suddenly feel panicked by the realization that they could be accused of drunk driving. Even when drivers are fairly certain that they are not legally drunk, panicking about the situation could cause drivers to make some unwise decisions that could only result in making matters worse.
On Tuesday, an Athens man was pulled over by police after officers reported that the driver had made an erratic turn. The 25-year-old was arrested for DUI after he took a hand-held breath test that revealed that the man’s blood-alcohol level was well above the legal limit of 0.08 in Georgia. However, when the man was arrested and taken to the police station, officers reported that the man attempted to pretend to take several other breath tests in order to avoid DUI charges.
According to Athens-Clarke police, the man was pulled over shortly before 5 a.m. on Tuesday. The driver told police that his hand had slipped on the steering wheel, which caused him to lose control of the car when making a turn. However, police asked the man to take a breath test which revealed that the man’s blood-alcohol level was .170.
The driver was arrested and taken to the police station. There, police said that the man pretended to take several other breath tests when they noticed that the man had something in his mouth. The man allegedly had a penny in his mouth when taking the breath tests because he thought that the penny would prevent the device from giving accurate readings of his blood-alcohol level.
To other motorists in Athens, don’t rely on your lucky penny to get you out of a DUI charge because it’s not going to work. The most obvious way to avoid a DUI charge is to arrange for a sober driver if you have been drinking. However, if you misjudge your ability to drive and end up being arrested for drunk driving, you may want to consider the benefits of hiring an attorney who will know how to aggressively defend your case in order to minimize your consequences as best as possible.
Source: Athens Banner-Herald, “Penny doesn’t fool DUI machine,” Feb. 1, 2012