Will I be un-arrested for DUI if I blow under .08 on a breath test? South Florida DUI Attorney Explains
Not a chance.
Sounds crazy, right? Many people who are pulled over for a DUI (driving under the influence) in Florida are eager to give a breath test on a breathalyzer when police ask, because they assume that if they blow below the legal limit of 0.08, that they will either not be arrested or will be un-arrested.
It makes sense - if your blood alcohol content is below the legal limit of 0.08, why would you still be arrested for a Florida DUI? Shouldn’t that be a case closed? Unfortunately not.
Let’s say you were arrested for DUI on the side of the road near Fort Lauderdale. You didn’t give a breath test on the side of the road, but are confident that you’re not drunk or impaired by alcohol or drugs, so when you’re at the Fort Lauderdale police station, you agree to do a breathalyzer breath test to test how much alcohol is in your blood. Maybe you even agree to do the field sobriety exercises.
Here’s the deal -- you were already arrested. Regardless of what number you blow on the breath test. You were already arrested on the side of the road for a DUI in South Florida based on the police officer’s opinion that you were driving while impaired. The arrest already happened and the Florida DUI laws allow police to continue to prosecute you even if your blood alcohol content is under the legal limit of 0.08 when you blow the breathalyzer.
RELATED: Learn about why we typically suggest saying NO to breath tests in Florida
Even if you give a breath test below 0.08, police will proceed to further investigate you instead of letting you go.
For example, if they had you give a breath test to see how much alcohol you had in your system, but you demonstrated you were below the legal limit for driving in Florida, then police might think that you have drugs in your system and might ask for a urine sample.
The scary thing about a urine test for drugs, is that drug tests can pick up drugs that have been in your system for a while -- even if you haven’t done or taken in drugs in a couple weeks, you may still get positive results for drugs in your system on a drug test.
So, the bad news for you is - if you smoked a joint last weekend at your friend's party, it could now be used against you as evidence in a DUI case even though it had no effect on your driving at the time you were arrested.
This is just ONE of the reasons why there’s almost never any incentive to give a breath test. You simply don’t want to open yourself up to further investigation; and all a breath test does is give police further evidence.
If you or a loved one were arrested for DUI, give us a call to schedule a FREE DUI Consultation. We’ll listen to your story, learn about your case and let you know how we’d defend you. All in the first, free, meeting.
Give us a call today:
- Fort Lauderdale: (754) 206-6200
- Sunrise: (754) 999-2499
- Boca Raton: (561) 880-8181