Reader’s Question:

What does a .08 alcohol concentration mean in Baytown Texas?

Miles

Baytown, TX

Under the Baytown Texas law, blood alcohol concentration means the quantity of grams of alcohol per:

- two hundred ten liters of breath;
- one hundred milliliters of blood; or
- sixty seven milliliters of urine.

If you have been drinking while driving, you will not have any idea of how much alcohol you have in your system. You will not realize to stop yourself from drinking further alcohol during driving. In doing so, you won’t be able to calculate the amount of alcohol level in your blood. Unless you are an engineer, chemist, toxicologist or a specialist on alcohol and have a calculator, you will not be able to find out whether or not you have an alcohol concentration of .08 or greater. The amount of alcohol in each of the above definitions is not equal. As a result, depending on the test, one test could corroborate your innocence while the other insinuates your guilt with a .08 or more. A general rule of thumb is that you may have “one twelve ounce of beer,” “one four ounce glass of wine,” or “one one and a half ounce shot of whiskey” per hour. These facts alone should prove the significance of hiring an experienced DWI lawyer who is conscious of the differences.

Reader’s Question:

If I have any physical disabilities, can this cause false results for an Austin Texas DWI?

Daphne

Austin, TX

It is vital to note that the Austin Texas law provides for intoxication by the introduction of any intoxicating substance into the body. This is intended to make our roadways secure from perilous drivers. Typically, proof at trial is limited to alcohol except for some declarations or other signs that will suggest that the driver has become impaired by some other substance. It is significant to note that being on treatment drugs is not a defense to a DWI criminal prosecution. If the label recommends that intake will damage ones ability to maneuver a motor vehicle or machinery, taking such medicine and driving may subject you to DWI detention and conviction. At trial, the State therefore may show intoxication in three dissimilar ways. One, a person does not have the normal use of physical faculties. Second, the person does not have the normal use of mental faculty and third, the person has an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more.

The panel of adjudicators in Austin Texas does not have to be unanimous on the method and means of intoxication, simply that the person was drunk and intoxicated. It is also important to note that intoxication must take place and be established to transpire while driving.

Reader’s Question:

I’ve been drinking and get stopped by an officer in Carrollton Texas. What then? What is the PAS test? What happens if the test results are positive?

Francis

Carrollton, TX

The preliminary alcohol-screening test used by the police of Carrollton to measure your blood alcohol level. The PAS apparatus is a hand-held breath-testing unit that gives an immediate and precise measure of your blood alcohol concentration. If you are under 21 and the officer thinks you have been drinking, you will be given a Preliminary Alcohol Screening test. It does not matter how much alcohol the officer thinks you have had, if the officer thinks you’ve been drinking a few quantity of alcohol, you must take a PAS test. If a PAS testing device in not accessible, you would have to take another type of chemical test like a breath or a blood test. If you rejected or didn’t complete the PAS test, you would have further developed your driving freedom cancelled.

If your PAS test shows a blood alcohol content of 0.01% or greater, the officer will get rid your driver license and furnish you a temporary driver license. The officer will tell you “your driver license is going to be suspended.” The suspension will go into effect in 30 days. Let us say you drank considerably in excess of the case above. This is what is going to happen. Say your BAC is 0.08% or greater, you will be apprehended. You will not get a temporary license because you will not need it. You will not be driving yourself home. Your car will be taken away and you will have to call somebody to get you out of jail. This is not something you desire to do. Keep in mind that this is going to be kept on your driving record for 10 years.

Reader’s Question:

What is the disagreement over the state of Texas’s breathalyzer reliability and accuracy? -

Juliette

Austin, TX

In, Texas the possible reliability errors our scientists argue on are too many to cover them all here. However, the following are some of the important ones: Neither the producer nor the DPS will let anyone, other than law enforcement personnel, to test either the machine’s accuracy or its reliability. It is usually implicit that for a procedure to be established as accurate and reliable in science, that it must be open for contention to the scientific community to test and re-test the procedure. This is not the situation with the Intoxilyzer. The manufacturer does not guarantee that the Intoxilyzer is well for any particular purpose. This fact clearly is an implicit admittance by the maker that its machine is not even guaranteed as accurate and reliable for breath testing. The Intoxilyzer is competent of breath preservation. However, our DPS intentionally fails to oblige the breath specimens to be saved. So, while re testing of preserved breath specimens could be done by an added accurate and reliable method known as gas chromatography, the charged persons are prevented from doing so. The breathalyzer’s design is based on the idea that every person tested is exactly the same. People are not the same!This is especially significant here with regard to ratios (the number of times an item appears in the blood vs. the number of times the same item appears in the breath). Persons with a lower blood/breath ratio than that assumed by the Intoxilyzer will be biased because the Intoxilyzer results will be unnaturally high.

Reader’s Question:

When I get arrested in Corpus Christi, Texas, can I choose to have a blood test rather than a breath test?

Andrew

Corpus Christi, TX

Corpus Christi Texas law gives the police officer the choice of which test to test you. If the police officer asks you to take a breath test and you can say that you will only take a blood test and they do not give you the opportunity to take a blood test then they count it as a refusal. The police officer then can get your driver’s license and it will then be subject to suspension.

You can submit a sample either using breath, blood, urine, or another bodily substance at the request or order of a peace officer may, on request and within a reasonable time not to exceed two hours after the arrest, have a physician, qualified technician, chemist, or registered professional nurse selected by the person take for analysis an additional specimen of the person’s blood. Your police officer is not required to transport for testing a person who requests that a blood specimen be taken under this section.

If the police officer cannot get an additional specimen or analysis under this section does not preclude the admission of evidence relating to the analysis of the specimen taken at the request of the police officer. I hope this helps.

Reader’s Question:

How does the alcohol test used by law enforcements of Dallas, Texas?

Rocky

Dallas, TX

The alcohol test done in Dallas, Texas has utilized for both medical and official purposes. Model and results for each use are usually accumulated and tested separately. The goal of medical testing is to find the presence of alcohol in order to effectively care for the patient’s warning signs. For medical purposes, blood, and at times urine, alcohol tests are used to distinguish the existence of ethanol and to assess its level. One or more of these tests may be set when a patient presents to the Emergency Room with signs that indicates ethanol toxicity. Signs may consist of confusion, shock, vomiting, slow movements, and unconsciousness. Other tests, such as a Complete Blood Count, glucose, and electrolytes are often ordered at the same time as there is a diversity of other circumstances that can cause similar symptoms. Supplementary drug testing and testing for the presence of other more toxic alcohols may also be executed if the use of other materials is alleged.

The goal of legal testing is to recognize the occurrence of alcohol and to appraise its existence in the framework of a diversity of different laws. Legal testing must be done by particularly skilled people and must have a harsh chain-of-custody. Testing may be ordered to establish whether an unpredictable driver has a blood alcohol concentration that is in excess of the legal boundary, to decide whether an under-age minor has been drinking, whether someone on parole has withdrawn from alcohol, and to establish whether alcohol use has played a part to a mishap. Post-mortem ethanol testing may be done to decide whether alcohol contributed to a person’s death. Legal ethanol testing may also be carry out by chance or “with cause” as part of an employer’s drug testing program to decide whether a member of staff has alcohol in their body system. It may also be piece of the testing that is completed as part of a request for life insurance.

Reader’s Question:

Hi. I was recently charged with DWI here in Houston, TX and I refused to take any test like breathalyzer, urine test and blood test. Is there a way that I can prevent the suspension of my driver’s license?

Mary

Houston, TX

There are two ways to prevent a driver’s license suspension in Texas. First is to request and win an Administrative License Revocation (ALR) hearing or to receive a not guilty verdict in your DWI trial.

The Texas law allows an offender to request an ALR hearing within 15 days of receiving a written license suspension. An officer will serve this written notice upon the driver’s refusal or failure of a breathalyzer, urine test, or blood test in most cases. The Department of Public Safety (DPS) will notify the offender of his/her driver’s license suspension via certified mail if the officer fails to serve you a written notice. But if you fail request an ALR hearing, your license suspension begins on the 40th day after receiving the notice.

Reader’s Question:

My father was convicted for DUI here in Texas and got his license revoked. He was told that he can get his license reinstated or at least get an occupational license. What does an occupational license mean and how can he get this?

Rhea

San Antonio, TX

Thanks for asking, Rhea.

An occupational license is a special restricted license issued to a person whose license has been revoked or suspended for certain offenses such as DUI. This license authorizes the operation of a non-commercial motor vehicle in connection with a person’s occupation, for educational purposes or in the performance of essential household duties. Under the Texas Transportation Code, a request for such license is made to the county or district court in the county of the licensee’s residence or to the court of original jurisdiction where the offense occurred.

Here are the requirements for the occupational license in Texas:
-certified copy of the court order granting the occupational license and the certified copy of the petition
-An original SR-22 certificate of insurance and this is the only proof of insurance acceptable
-An occupational license fee ($10/year) for a one year license or less. 2-year license is the maximum length of issuance.
-A statutory reinstatement fee ($100) for the Safety Responsibility suspension, if required
-A statutory reinstatement fee ($100) for the Driver Improvement suspension, if required
-A statutory reinstatement fee ($125) for the Administrative License Revocation (ALR), if required

Under the Texas law, it is required that good cause be shown to receive an occupational license. Examples of these good cause are going to and from work, taking children to and from school, going to and from a religious service, traveling to and from a grocery store and traveling to and from a medical facility for treatment. The occupational license permits a person to operate a motor vehicle for up to 12 hours per day, but is subject to restrictions.

Reader’s Question:

I have been driving for a long time. I got some tickets here is Texas but I have never been charged with a graver offense such as DUI/DWI. This saddens me because my 16-year old son just got his license a month ago and already got a DUI charge a week ago. What consequences does my son might be facing?

Jeff

El Paso , TX

A DUI charge is a classified as a class “C” misdemeanor. That means that the driver can not receive jail time and will be paying a maximum fine of $500 for a first offense (for subsequent offenses, the offender can receive significant jail time). Along with this fine can be a probation, community service and alcohol awareness classes. Also, the Texas Department of Public Safety will issue a notice of suspension and try to suspend the minor’s driver’s license in the majority of these cases. The suspension of the license is the same license revocation (ALR) process that is used in adult cases.

The State of Texas has been long known as a “zero tolerance” state. This means that a minor (under 21 years old) is not permitted to consume any alcohol and drive a vehicle. If the arresting officer testifies that he/she smelled an alcoholic beverage on a minor’s breath during a traffic stop, then the minor will be cited for DUI. This applies even if the officer feels the minor is both below the .08 legal limit and has not lost the normal use of his/her mental facilities, but has consumed any alcohol. Make sure that your son’s case will not be mishandled because it can have terrible long-term effects on the minor’s criminal record and lengthy driver’s license suspensions. It is very important that these cases are taken seriously.

Reader’s Question:

My son was arrested for DUI in Dallas, Texas. I despise what happened to him because he was not given the chance to consult a lawyer as to whether he would submit to the tests the police wanted him to do. Is this even legal? I need some clarifications.

Nikki

Dallas , TX

Excellent question you got there, Nikki.

You may not like what answer I have for you. Yes, that is legal. The State of Texas is one of the states which have an “implied consent” law. This law states that a person who has applied for and has been granted a license to operate a motor vehicle on a public roadway has impliedly consented to providing a specimen of blood or breath if arrested for DUI/DWI and provided with the applicable consequences of refusal to submit to testing. That is under Texas Transportation Code Chapter 724. Moreover, an individual does not have the right to consult with a lawyer before making the decision to refuse or provide a requested specimen as held by Texas appellate courts. A citizen can be compelled to provide the requested sample if there was an accident which produced serious life-threatening injury or possibility of death.