If the police have reasonable suspicion of drunk driving, perhaps they spot unsafe lane changing, swerving or running the red light, they can stop a driver and perform a blood, breath or urine test to measure their blood alcohol concentration (BAC). Nonetheless, the accuracy of BAC tests has been under the microscope for a long time.
Which one is the most accurate?
Blood tests
Blood tests are considered to be the most accurate BAC tests. To perform this type of test, a driver will be taken to a hospital or clinical setting to have their blood withdrawn, usually from a vein in the arm. The amount of alcohol in the blood will then be measured using laboratory analysis.
Breath tests
Breath testing is indirectly measuring the amount of alcohol in the blood. Instead of withdrawing blood, a driver exhales air into a handheld device. Alcohol can be detected in the exhaled air.
Using a breathalyzer is not as accurate as a blood test because some factors can affect its results. For starters, poor calibration. If a breathalyzer is not calibrated regularly and properly maintained, it can give wrong results. Foods containing alcohol, such as fermented ones, can also result in a false positive on a breathalyzer test.
Other factors include using a mouthwash that contains alcohol and medical conditions like acid reflux, diabetes and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
Urine tests
An alcohol urine test is mostly performed when breath and blood tests are unavailable or can’t be performed. This type of test measures the amount of unmetabolized alcohol or its metabolites on a urine sample. However, its results can be affected by the same errors that can affect those of blood tests.
If you fail any of these tests, your results may be inaccurate. Consider legal guidance to defend yourself.