Over the weekend, a local woman was pulled over by an Athens-Clarke County Police officer after the officer allegedly saw the woman’s vehicle drift in and out of her lane of traffic several times. The woman was later charged with DUI.
According to the arrest report, the officer asked the driver to take several field sobriety tests and a breath test during the traffic stop. After failing the field sobriety tests, the driver agreed to take a breath test. Even though the driver did blow into the officer’s portable Alco-sensor machine and the results indicated that the driver had been drinking, the officer wrote in the arrest report that the test was “insufficient.”
The driver was pulled over on Sunday morning. While conducting the traffic stop, the officer noted that the odor of alcohol was detected and that the driver’s eyes were bloodshot. The driver allegedly had trouble balancing when performing the field sobriety tests. According to the arrest report, the driver also had trouble taking the breath test. The results of one test revealed a reading of 0.236. However, the test was deemed “insufficient.”
After the driver was arrested, police administered another breath test. The first Intoxilyzer 5000 revealed a reading of .208. The officer reported that the second test was refused by the driver because the woman did not blow correctly into the tube. The woman was charged with DUI.
When a driver is suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol, police may ask the driver to take a breath test. When a driver agrees to take the test, the individual should be aware that officers do not always issue the tests correctly, which could result in inaccurate readings. On the other hand, drivers should also be aware that refusing a breath test could result in a one-year license suspension in Georgia.
In either situation, individuals who have been charged with DUI may benefit from working with an attorney who is experienced with handling all types of DUI cases.
Source: The Red and Black, “Woman charged with DUI after blowing 0.208 in insufficient breathalyzer test,” Cailin O’Brien, Aug. 26, 2012