Breath Alcohol Testing is appropriate and justified under the law anytime someone is suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol or causes a wreck while driving. It is also a crime to test with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or more within two hours of driving a vehicle.

Austin, TX – Oct 24, 2003 – Drunk driving involvement in fatal motor-vehicle crashes is on the rise. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, alcohol was involved in 41 percent of fatal crashes in 1995. Between 1982 and 1993, 266,291 deaths in the United States were alcohol related -one fatality every 30 minutes. What if friends started to talk about drunk driving? Growing up in high school I remember my friends talking about how wasted they got at the Friday night party. “Ya, we floated that keg,” or “I had to stop on the side of the road to puke.” Never did we talk about drunk driving or the implications of it.

It is illegal to operate a motor vehicle with a BAC of .08 or more. It is also a crime to test with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or more within two hours of driving a vehicle. Blood alcohol concentrations are determined by testing the level of alcohol present in a driver’s blood. Alcohol is testable because it is not processed like other food products. When alcohol is ingested it is absorbed into the bloodstream. This absorption is what causes the alcoholic effect we call intoxication.

Under normal circumstances, drivers suspected of having high blood alcohol concentrations are asked to submit to a Breathalyzer test. This test is the most commonly used because it provides the officer with an immediate result. Blood and urine samples must be submitted to a laboratory for testing.

What if someone pulled out a Breathalyzer and tested their friends BAC (Blood Alcohol Content), maybe it would wake people up to see how drunk they really are. An Alcohol Breathalyzer determines the concentration of alcohol in blood or breath and has come to be regarded as the most objective indicator of impaired driving.

Know what you’re getting into before you get behind the wheel. The nationwide standard for dwi and dui cases is .08 BAC. If you don’t know you are chancing your life and the life of others. It is important for all people who have been drinking to be safe and sure before they get behind the wheel of an automobile.