Jun 15, 2012 | DUI & DWI, Uncategorized
Before we get started, let’s all remind ourselves that nobody should drink and drive. For whatever reason though, myths about how to fool the breathalyzer and breath tests generally are popular stuff. But the thing is, almost all of these myths are just that: myths, stories people made up to have something to talk about.
The only way to be sure to pass a breathalyzer test is to not drink alcohol before taking one. Some of the supposed methods of fooling the test though are
- eating breath mints
- sucking on a penny
- eating garlic
- eating onions
- eating mustard (the yellow stuff, not greens)
- swallowing chewing tobacco
- having salted peanuts in your mouth, and
- chewing activated charcoal.
What all of these myths ignore is how breathalyzers actually work and how the test is actually administered. They just involve guesswork about how you would think a breathalyzer would work. You might think:”I can smell the alcohol on someone’s breath, and if someone is chewing mints, I cannot smell as much alcohol. Thus, chewing mints must change the breathalyzer reading.” That simply isn’t the case though. Breathalyzers, both the main unit at the police statioin and the portable handheld kind used by arresting officers, work by detecting the presence of alcohol in the breath. They do this through chemical reactions that result in a color change in a liquid (the ones at the station) or an increase in electrical charge (the ones in the field).
Whether you have extraneous chemicals in your breath is irrelevant to the mechanism of the test.
A couple variables that individuals can affect do change the results of the tests though. Since all breath tests rely on the amount of alcohol in the breath, and your lungs contain a good deal of breath, the approimate amount of alcohol contained in that air can be changed briefly by you. If you hold your breath for a long time before blowing, your Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) reading will be slighyly higher (more time for alcohol to get into that breath). If you hyperventilate before blowing, the BAC reading will be slightly lower. Of course, you should just take this as a fun fact because the effect of hyperventilating before a breath test is relatively small, driving under the influence is dangerous, and the consequences of a DUI conviction are severe.
The DUI attorneys of Reeves Aiken & Hightower LLP are experts in DUI and are ready to fight for you. We encourage you to visit our website at www.rjrlaw.com and compare our attorneys’ credentials to any other firm. You can then call us toll-free at 877-374-5999 for a private, confidential consultation to review your particular case.
Jun 6, 2012 | DUI & DWI, Uncategorized
One of the most frequently asked questions in DUI/DUAC law is whether or not to give a breath sample. All to often people think that if they just blow into the breath machine, have a BAC of less than .08, the Officer will just let them go home. However, the vast majority of the time, this is usually the exception rather than the rule. More often than not, those people who think they are ok to drive or under .08 are usually astounded by the results printed out by the datamaster. The simple fact of the matter is you should not blow unless you haven’t been drinking at all. Depending on your metabolism and body type, even one drink could be one to many to put you over the limit. The truth is that your probably going to spend the night in jail regardless of your Breath Alcohol Concentration.
But, a DUI case goes far beyond the night you are arrested and asked to give a breath sample. A DUI case is a marathon rather than a sprint. You have to look beyond that night and at the overall big picture that once you’re released for jail the next morning, you’re still going to have to go to court. You’re going to spend the night in jail… but a high BAC could send you back when your case goes to trial.
So then if the answer is to never blow unless you haven’t been drinking, clearly the answer must be that you should refuse to give a sample. It’s not as simple as simply refusing the test… It’s all in how you do it.
When you are taken into the datamaster room for a breath sample, everything you do and say is being video recorded. This means that everything you do and say will be seen by a jury at trial. So when you’re in the datamaster room you should play to the camera and in essence to the jury. A jury is made up of people just like you and odds are they don’t know anymore about a DUI then you. So, you can’t just simply say “I refuse”. That makes it look like you have something to hide. A jury will be wondering why you refused the test if you weren’t under the influence. Instead, you should ask the Officer questions such as: How does the machine work?, How does it actually measure my BAC?, when is the last time the machine was calibrated?, when is the last time the machine was inspected?, How often is this machine serviced?, ect. Then you should finally end with “I’m a little worried about giving you a sample because I’m not really sure how it works… but I’ll give you a sample if you can promise me that this machine is always 100% accurate”. Of course, the Officer can’t do that because nothing is 100% accurate. A jury will relate to your questions and wondering the same things themselves. By asking questions such as these, the jury will put themselves in your shoes and ask themselves if they would give a sample in the same situation.
In the end, you should refuse to give a sample… but make it look like you’re not refusing. The DUI attorneys at Reeves Aiken & Hightower LLP stand ready to help you if you have been arrested and charged for DUI, BUI or DUAC. Before hiring an attorney, you should carefully check out their credentials and actual experience. For more information about our lawyers, please visit our website at www.rjrlaw.com. Or to schedule a confidential consultation about your particular case, please call us directly at 877-374-5999.
Jun 3, 2012 | DUI & DWI, Uncategorized
The article below alerts the public of a new strategy which is starting in Lancaster County SC just in time for summer. While we applaud the intentions by police officials, we are equally concerned that otherwise innocent individuals may be falsely charged in this broad sweep of citizens. Checkpoints and “on the spot sobriety tests” should concern all freedom loving persons. While no one wants truly drunk drivers on our roads, it is becoming too easy to surrender our basic rights in the current DUI hysteria. Be careful if you dare have a drink with dinner or a beer with a friend. Remember that if you are stopped by the police with ANY scent of alcohol on your breath, you will most likely be arrested no matter what you do or say at that point. Of course, the easiest way to avoid all potential trouble is to designate a non-drinking driver to get everyone home safely. If this option is not possible, the best advice we can give you pre-arrest is to exercise your Constitutional rights and politely decline to answer any questions, perform any field sobriety (roadside) tests, and do NOT submit to breathalyzer testing (BAC machine).
The DUI attorneys at Reeves Aiken & Hightower LLP stand ready to aggressively represent you if you are charged with a DUI in Lancaster, SC. Tyler Burns is a former Sixteenth Circuit DUI prosecutor. Carefully compare our firm’s credentials against any other firm. For more information about us, please visit our website at www.rjrlaw.com. Then, call us directly for a confidential consultation of your particular case, even in the evenings or on the weekends, at 877-374-5999.
DUI crackdown part of Lancaster Co. initiative
Party patrols and on-the-spot sobriety tests will soon become common sights in Lancaster now that the county has started an initiative to combat its high rates of DUI arrests.
The Lancaster County Coalition for Healthy Youth laid out plans Tuesday to post photographs of every person who commits DUI in the county or city and send out surveys to 1,200 residents every two months gauging their reactions to the new campaign, said Paul McKenzie, a member of the coalition and research director for the Lancaster County School District.
New strategies include targeting communities rather than individual teens or families, conducting more party patrols and helping law enforcement officials become “visibly aggressive,” McKenzie said.
“Environmental prevention strategies involve changing community norms,” he said.
South Carolina was one of two states chosen to partner with the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention for the initiative. Within the state, Lancaster County was one of two counties chosen for the new strategy because it has the highest rate of DUIs in the state, McKenzie said.
In 2011, county deputies arrested 267 people for DUI’s, McKenzie said. There were 67 DUI-related crashes in the county last year. The county exceeded the national average for binge drinking and underage drinking in 2002.
The initiative partners the Lancaster City Police Department, Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office and S.C. Highway Patrol together, said Sheriff Barry Faile.
By Jonathan McFadden
www.heraldonline.com/2012/05/15/3975772/dui-crackdown-part-of-new-lancaster.html#storylink=cpy
May 27, 2012 | DUI & DWI, Uncategorized
The DUI attorneys of Reeves Aiken & Hightower LLP stand ready to aggressively defend you if you have been falsely charged with DUI in SC. We offer a state-wide practice but currently focus our practice in York, Lancaster, Richland, and Lexington counties. We encourage you to visit our website at www.rjrlaw.com and compare our attorneys’ credentials to any other firm. You can then call us toll-free at 877-374-5999 for a private, confidential consultation to review your particular case. Be safe this Memorial Day weekend.
In 2012, 159 arrests have been made in connection with driving under the influence. In 2011 at this time, only 49 arrests had been made.
Myrtle Beach Traffic Division Police Officer Kevin Cast said there are many reasons for the influx in arrests. He said the new training offered to recruits allows officers who enter the field for the first time to be completely trained to detect an impaired driver.
It is a certification in advanced DUI detection that recruits receive. Cast said until now, officers in the past had gone up to three years before receiving that specific type of training.
Cast said there is also an increased number of field sobriety instructors. Two years ago, there were only two certified field sobriety instructors compared to the seven officers the Myrtle Beach Police have now.
Local Criminal Defense Attorney, Amy Lawrence, said she thinks the nice weather earlier than usual is a reason for the high rate of arrests.
“We have better weather earlier in the game, so we have a lot more people. Anytime in Myrtle Beach, we can have hundreds of thousands of extra people and a lot of those are families and people here on vacation and so the influx in people alone is what brings our numbers up a lot,” Lawrence said.
Lawrence said finding balance between getting dangerous drivers off the roads and making unnecessary arrests could be really tough.
“We’ve got a state and city who’s trying to protect their constituents and family members and we’ve got all these tourists and the issue becomes, do we arrest more people in an abundance of caution or do we let it go and not have those DUI’s? I think they’re just willing to arrest, and ask questions later,” Lawrence said.
Officer Cast said so far in 2012, there has been one vehicle fatality that was related to alcohol.
Copyright 2012 WMBF News. All rights reserved.
May 6, 2012 | DUI & DWI, Uncategorized
There is always “bar talk” about how many drinks (alcohol, wine, beer) a person can have before they are considered “legally drunk”? While many profess to know the answer, there actually is no true scientific basis to calculate same with any certainty. An individual’s blood alcohol level is affected by a number of factors including age, weight, gender, time of day, physical condition, food consumed prior to taking a drink, other drugs or medication taken, and tolerance level. One thing we do know is that eating while drinking slows down the absorption of alcohol into your bloodstream, thereby resulting in a lower BAC level. Always remember that alcohol affects everyone differently. If you rarely drink, you could be severely impaired by a single beer. The only real conclusion reached is that impairment begins with the first drink, and that by the time you “feel drunk,” you’re probably already past the legal limit.
The Department of Justice estimates that over 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics in 2005 (the latest data available). The arrest rate works out to one arrest for every 139 licensed drivers in the United States. Although these are the latest arrest figures, it is doubtful these numbers have improved. Sadly, DUI and DWI arrests continue to rise every year, and legislatures around the country continue to pass even stricter and harsher laws.
The criminal defense attorneys of Reeves, Aiken & Hightower LLP focus their practice on DUI and DWI cases in both SC and NC. Our trial lawyers have over 70 years combined experience in the courtroom. We fight hard for our clients by taking their cases to trial in order to win an acquittal or get the best negotiated plea. Prosecutors know which law firms are willing to go to court and if they know what they are doing when they get there. Our team of attorneys have unique backgrounds and qualifications. For more information about our lawyers and firm, please visit www.rjrlaw.com. Compare our firm to any other. Then call us for a private consultation at 877-374-5999. We welcome an opportunity to help you and your family.
