one for our american friends?

Question

iv always been intrested ( watching cops ect ) why when someone is obviously way over the drink
drive limit they dont just breathalise. and make them walk the line ect. is this a legal thing.

rib1c dont really know what to say to you except keep taking the meds and i sincerly hope you get better

and thanx for the sensible ones, here in the uk they use a breathaliser for any moving violation. there portable things and just need the tube you blow in changed. intresting to see the diferences

very intresting answer mike b

thank you all for your very intresting and informative answers

Answer 1

We have 50 different states and 50 different ways each court interprets the law.

In my state we have to prove that we had probable cause (PC) to administer a breathylizer.

To establish PC I have to;
-observe a traffic violation to make the stop valid.
-make observations of the driver that indicate intoxications
-administer field sobriety tests
-take the person to the station for the breathylizer
(Very simplified version)

If I missed any of those steps then the case was thrown out. "Fruits of the poisenous tree" doctrine.

There is so much paperwork and steps to take that it usually takes about 4 hours to process the DUI driver and write the report. Unless it was a felony DUI, I usually released the person to the custody of someone in their family. They would be home well before I finished the paperwork.

Of course, if it is their first offense the prosecutor usually let them plead it down to a reckless driving charge. All the mandatory fines and sentences you hear about only apply if the prosecutor files those charges.

By the way, you can refuse the field sobriety test but if you refused the breathylizer I would suspend your license for a year AND get a warrant for a forcible blood draw.

Answer 2

We don't "make" people do anything like that. That's kind of the whole point of being an American (or a United Statesian????). We ask people to take a field sobriety test, or breathe into a Breathalyzer. They have the right to refuse. Unfortunately for them, they do not have the right to drive on our roads. Driving is a privilege afforded to Americans, and that privilege will be revoked if a driver is suspected to be intoxicated and refuses to cooperate.
If there is an accicent with property damage, or if someone is hurt or killed, or if certain traffic laws are violated, and the suspect is not cooperative, the Officer can get a warrant then take the suspect to the hospital to have his blood drawn and tested for alcohol and narcotics.

Answer 3

As far as I know it is still legal for a police officer to conduct a field sobriety test. I think that most police officers (with a few exceptions) conduct them discretely and fairly.

I am not sure that most police officers carry breathalyzer kits (or at least they didn't as recently as a few years ago), but I don't think that people who are barely over the legal limit would want the breathalyzer test always.

Answer 4

Sheesh, hey person with the first answer? I understand you are proud of your country, as am I, but you have completely forgotten the purpose of the question in your little 5-paragraph essay there!! I'm not saying it's bad to be patriotic but man....

Anyway, yeah, they have to do a sobriety test as a legal measure. Otherwise they may just go up to someone and say "hey you're drunk, ok lets go to the police station". Hey, the government likes taking the opportunity to abuse rights so.....that pretty much explains it I suppose. I hope that answers your question.

Answer 5

At least in the state where I was a officer, the portable breath test is not good for court ( not admissable expect to use for probable cause to arrest and take back to jail for real test)

The actual field sobriety test would have more court standing.

The real breath test is done back at the jail on a very large machine, with at least two seperate tests, normally three.
Or taken for a blood test.

So they are merely arrested at the scene on probable cause and then taken back for the actual test.

Answer 6

The American police must first test people in the field before they can take them to the station for a breathalizer. Once at the station people can still refuse to be tested and in that case they lose their license automatically for 1 year.

Answer 7

The mobile units available would be to expensive to keep calibrated for every cop and training for every cop and continue education for every cop. It would be a legal loop hole for lawyers to get their clients off. Less loop holes if they just get probable cause by walk the line and then one qualified person at station house administers breathalyser test on one calibrated machine.

Answer 8

YES, It is a Field Sobriety Test...This will dictate if a Breath test should be administered

Answer 9

Think you mean United Statesian not American friends.

You see, there is no such a thing as ‘American’ nationality, America is not a nation America is a continent with many nations in it. The US never named itself the name of the United States is a designation it comes from the end of the Declaration of Independence, "WE, therefore, the Representatives of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, in GENERAL CONGRESS, Assembled...". The preamble to the U.S. Constitution reiterated the phrase: "We the People of the United States..." (The authors of these two documents probably used the phrase "united states" in place of a list of colonies/states because they remained uncertain at the time of drafting which colonies/states would sign off on the sentiments therein.) The geographic term "America" specifies the states' home on the American continent.

It is therefor incorrect to refer to US citizens as Americans with the intent of denoting citizenship, or the United States as America with the intent of denoting a nation. Americans have a term for US citizens, we are called United Statesians by the rest of Americans, to say American with the intent of denoting citizenship or America when we mean the United States reflects poorly on our attitude towards the 70% of Americans that are not United Statesians.

Also, although some people would like to believe that America is not one but two continents, North America and South America. If you think about it though, the term U.S. of A. is a glaring example that this line of thought is incorrect, if America was two continents instead of one, shouldn’t it be U.S. of N.A. (North America)? We say Columbus discovered..... ? AMERICA, not South America or North America.

Lastly, while everybody in America from Nome to Patagonia, from Easter Island to Greenland is an American, not every United Statesian is an American. For instance, Hawaiians are as United Statesians as they come, but they ARE NOT Americans, they are Pacific Islanders.

Hope that helps.