Preliminary Breath Tests in Bethesda

The preliminary breath test is not a test that is admissible in court. It is simply a test that an officer can use to determine whether or not they believe there is probable cause to place a person under arrest.

If an officer sees a preliminary breath test with a result of less than 0.08, that does not necessarily mean that the officer will not arrest the person. What that means is that the officer will take that information into consideration with other information that the officer has already seen as a result of things like field sobriety testing, bad driving, odor of alcohol, and other observations made during the course of interaction with the person driving the vehicle at the time it was stopped.

If you are facing a DUI charge after submitting a preliminary breath test in Bethesda, it is pertinent to consult with an attorney immediately. An experienced lawyer can assist in lessening or dismissing any penalties associated with your charge.

Deciding Whether to Submit a Breath Test

Even if an individual is positive that their BAC is below 0.08, it is a complicated question as to whether or not they should submit to a preliminary breath test in Bethesda. The answers can be in the affirmative to take the preliminary breath test or not, depending on how an officer views the result.

If an officer sees a breathalyzer test that is below 0.08, they might make a determination to let a person go, assuming that they are not driving under the influence or while impaired by alcohol. However, if an officer sees an alcohol level of below 0.08, they might also assume that a person’s alcohol level is on the rise as opposed to on the decline.

If the person had recently consumed alcohol and had a heavy odor of alcohol on their breath, or perhaps had an open container of alcohol in their vehicle at the time, they might have a higher alcohol level when they arrived at the police station and would, therefore, be in a position to be charged with driving under the influence or while impaired by alcohol.

Defense Strategies

A defense attorney can use the preliminary breath test in criminal court to try and argue that if at the time the person was pulled over, they were not under the influence or impaired by alcohol. However, that would not necessarily stop an officer from charging the person.

Whether or not a person who feels that they will pass the preliminary breath test in Bethesda should take it is more complicated than just believing that they are going to pass it. It also has a lot of to do with how an officer interprets that result when it is administered on the side of the road.

Breath Test Administration at the Station

Subsequently, a breathalyzer test that law enforcement gives at a Bethesda police station is what will help an officer prosecute the case criminally. All of those factors, including a person’s appearance, motor skills, bad driving, will all be used together to assist the officer in determining whether or not an arrest is appropriate in the case.