Under .08 and Still Arrested for DUI

When a person is pulled over on suspicion of driving drunk, one of the tests that an officer may ask the driver to undergo is a breathalyzer test. In Rhode Island, the legal limit for driving under the influence is .08 blood alcohol content (BAC). However, this number is mostly treated by the police as a rough indicator of how drunk an individual may be. If you are at .08 or above, you will almost certainly be arrested. However, you may be surprised to find that even if your breathalyzer test shows that you are under .08 – even substantially under – you may still be arrested for a DUI.

The reasoning that the police give for when arresting individuals whose BAC is under .08 is that alcohol affects individuals in different ways. A person may test below .08 but actually behave as if they are more impaired than someone with a higher BAC. For this reason, police will frequently arrest drivers who have a BAC of .05 or more.

If an officer believes that you are impaired and are therefore guilty of drunk driving, he or she will likely arrest you regardless of what your breathalyzer reads. It is therefore extremely important to know your BAC reading and fight your charge if you believe it is unjust.

An experienced DUI defense lawyer can help you contest wrongful charges brought against you. A DUI attorney will examine all evidence and aggressively question its legitimacy. If the police have no way of showing that you were driving impaired and your BAC registered under .08, the charges against you may be dropped.

Experienced DUI defense attorney Matthew Marin knows the procedures that the police must follow and evidence that they must have in order to convict a driver. He will protect your rights and interests throughout the court process and fight to defend any unjust charges against you.

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For sound legal advice and assistance with your DUI charge, please contact aggressive, experienced Rhode Island DUI lawyer Matthew Marin today at 401-287-4384.