Question regarding drink driving?

Question

My friend was pulled over for drink driving and failed the breath test he blew 41, when he got 2 the station he failed again but then asked for a blood test and passed.

Is this possible?

Answer 1

Yes. In the UK, if you blow below 50 you can elect to replace the sample with one of blood or urine (the police choose which). This means that your friend was on the downward slope of what he had drunk and under the limit by the time the sample was taken.

Answer 2

yes this is true as the legal limit is 35 he was only just over.

Answer 3

This question makes no sense.  

First thing, it is drunk driving, not drink driving.  

Second, do you mean he blew a .041?  .41?  You can't blow a 41, as your blood alcohol tops out at 100%, or 1.0.

Third, when you take a blood test you do not get the results back in a couple hours.  Police officers are not trained to take or test blood samples, nurses take the blood then they are sent to labs that process them, which can take a couple weeks.

Anyone who has a blood alcohol of .41 is dangerously close to passing out and dying.  .08 is the legal limit for most US states, unless conditions are met such as a CDL, or firearm, then the BAC becomes .04.

Answer 4

Your Friend isn't telling the whole story.

He blew over(just) the limit. Then he was arrested and taken to the station where I think he probably blew under and was released then. Blood tests, take between 3 and 5 weeks to complete. I think your Friend has been very lucky and should take this as a warning. I also think he has an active imagination, be carefull what you believe.

Answer 5

A  big  YES  I  got  pulled  over  too  6  months  ago  for  DUI  and  was  a  test  on  site  and  failed  and  given    a  blood  test  .when court date  comes  result  came  all  negative  and  they  dropped  the  case  ......THANK  YOU  or  else  ....

Answer 6

I'm not positive, but I think you might be drunk right now.

Answer 7

Yes, it can be possible.  Here is how.  

A Breathalyzer will give you a reading at the time it's given.  Say you blow .15  Well, alcohol burns at the rate of 1 drink per hour (12oz beer, 8oz wine, 1oz whiskey)

So, in order to get blood test, they have to get a warrant, signed by a judge etc.  This can take several hours.  By the time they can legally obtain a blood sample, 6 hours may have passed.  That's 6 drinks that have burned off.  Average person takes 4 drinks to get to .10...so the Alcohol content in the blood will be lower because of the difference in time between test.  Breathalyzers are still accurate, a blood reading is just more accurate.

Answer 8

Yes.  If he took say 5 shots just before he got into the car and started driving sure his breath would smell like alcohol and a breathalizer would register the breath in his mouth and lungs.  But it takes a little while longer for the alcohol to reach the blood line.  So if there wasnt too much time that elapsed between his taking the shots and getting the blood test then the alcohol would not have made it to his blood yet.

Answer 9

he (or you ) will probbaly get away with it

Answer 10

I think you mean your friend blew a .14 BAC, NOT .41 BAC... as that would be lethal alcohol intoxication requiring hospitalization, if he is still alive!  

NO, it is impossible for someone to go from a .14 BAC and then to "pass" or become sober and alcohol free in such a short period of time.  Even several hours would not change this DUI.  This is presuming all the testing is working accurately (and the police keep maintenance logs on the Breathalyzer) and the blood sample was not compromised.

Answer 11

Roadside tests are just guides. Some machines give a reading some don't.

Once a person has been arrested they are taken to a police station where breth test procedures are conducted on a Home Office approved device. These machines give accurate readings of breath alcohol.

The legal limit for breath is 35. If a person blows between 40 and 50 they are given what is called a statutory option. That means they can ask to replace the breath sample with a sample for analysis, usually blood. The officer decides which it is unless a medical practitioner is of the opinion that blood cannot be taken, in which case it would be urine.

A blood sample would then be taken and sent off to a forensic lab for a test. This takes about 6 weeks to process, so your friend would be bailed to return to the police station pending the result.

So to answer your question the results of the blood test are not immediate and yes a person could go on to pass a blood test.

Answer 12

It is possible. Breathalyzers are really not very accurate, especially if he had just finished drinking and there was still alcohol in his mouth. Good for him for demanding to be retested.

Answer 13

If he blew  above 40 but less than 50 at the station then he can elect to have a blood sample taken for analysis.

This is sent to the lab for tests and takes about a month, so he wouldn't know straight away.

Think he may be telling porkies,but what else can you expect from a person who drink drives?

Answer 14

Yes it is possible as your good friend may be a smoker or may have been inadvertently inhaling the smoke. So a spell in the old nick cleared his alcohol level quickly brought his high blood pressure to normal funny how we feel better when we are at Doctor`s surgery eh.SO THE ANSWER IS YES.