Georgia Breath Test
Serving: Carrollton, Douglasville, LaGrange, Newnan, Dallas,
Cedartown, Franklin,
Hiram, Villa Rica, Buchanan, Bremen, and
Tallapoosa Why the prosecution’s proof of your breath test is not always “air tight.”
For anyone suspected of driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol, police can put you through a trying, stressful situation right at the side of the road. When police believe a person is driving under the influence, that individual may perform a variety of tests to help “back up” their suspicions.
Police are trained to look for certain signs of alcohol consumption when approaching a driver. These symptoms may include slurred speech, a smell of alcohol coming from the vehicle, bloodshot eyes, etc. Once they have probable cause to believe that a person is DUI, they will ask the person to submit to a chemical test (blood, breath or urine). Of the three, the breath test is most often used by Georgia police because it is the only test police officers are allowed to administer. Blood and urine tests must be conducted by qualified medical professionals.
In Georgia, police officers are trained to conduct evidential breath tests on the Intoxilyzer 5000. Keep in mind that, when hiring a DUI defense attorney to represent you, it is crucial that he or she fully understands this device. Paulding County, Georgia’s DUI defense attorney Allen Trapp not only knows how this machine works, but he happens to own one.
Well versed on this machine’s weaknesses, attorney Allen Trapp can poke holes in the prosecution’s seemingly air tight case. Just because the state has your breath test results does not mean that you automatically fail. In fact, this machine has many inaccuracies. For example, the machine may have detected alcohol on a person’s breath (GERD is a common culprit) as well as in the blood. It can read alcohol found in your mouth, which could have been left by dental adhesives, cough syrup or breath mints.
It is also imperative that the officer who administered your breath test was properly trained on how to administer the breath test on that specific machine. If your breath test was not conducted accurately or if the machine was not working or was not properly calibrated, it could cause your readings to be false.
If you were given a breath test and were arrested for DUI, don’t wait to contact attorney Allen Trapp.