What Happens If I Fail a Breathalyzer Test?

You’re driving home after a night on the town in Mid-town or maybe on Washington with a few friends. You’ve had dinner and a few drinks. However, you feel sober, and you’re positive that you can drive home safely.

As you begin your journey home, you see the red and blue lights flashing behind you, and the police officer is signaling for you to pull over. Your mind races, and you begin to wonder if you really may be above the legal limit for driving.

The officer, a member of the HPD DWI task force comes to your door and asks for your driver’s license, insurance, and registration. You quickly oblige and hand over the requested documents. The officer then asks you where you’re coming from and you answer him honestly. Then the proverbial question, have you been drinking tonight! You answer, again honestly that you have had a couple and you are fine. But now it’s game on!

Next, the officer demands that you exit your vehicle and asks that you submit to a field sobriety test. You comply (You don’t have to, but you do) with all the officer’s demands. After completing the field sobriety test, the officer asks that you blow into a machine he refers to as the Breathalyzer.

This is a preliminary test (a portable breath testing device or PBT), it is fuel cell technology and is has limited probative value in court. You blow; it beeps. He then informs you that you have failed the Breathalyzer test, and places you under arrest for driving while intoxicated.

Don’t be Fooled by the DWI Task Force

Don’t let them FOOL you in to believing that they have you because you failed the PBT. You still don’t have to do the test on the Intoxilyzer 5000EN back at the police station.

They can be convincing or at a minimum very manipulative, just because they are members of Houston Police Department DWI Task Force they don’t have a monopoly on what you have to do or not do! This is where you have to use your head and resist the pressure they assert.

You can’t believe this is happening. You only had a few drinks, and you swear you never meant to drive drunk. Your pleas fall on deaf ears, however. What do you do now? Remember, you have rights.

Contact Us

We suggest that you contact our experienced Houston, Texas DWI defense team. Our knowledge in this area of the law will allow us to put forth a defense that can help you lessen, or possibly even eliminate, the penalties you face. We have multiple lawyers that are educated in the science of DWI cases and that are certified as ACS-CHAL Lawyer-Scientists. This means we’re highly trained in the science of breath and blood tests cases.

How We Can Help You

Some tactics we can use to defend against DWI charges include:

• Questioning the validity of the initial stop. Did the officer have cause to make the initial traffic stop? If the validity of the initial stop can be called into question then the actions taken after the stop can be questioned as well.
• Question the administration of the field sobriety test. Was the field sobriety test properly administered? Were there injuries that prevented you from successfully completing the test? If the test was improperly administered then we will fight against the admissibility of the test as evidence to be used against you at court.
• Question the administration or validity of the Breathalyzer test. Was the Breathalyzer test given in accordance with proper procedures and protocols? How was the machine maintained? How long has it been since the machine had been serviced? Is there another plausible medical reason for the result?
• Question police action. Did the police act improperly? Were the civil rights of the accused violated? What is the history of the arresting officer? Has he previously acted improperly?

These are just a few examples of possible defenses that can be brought on your behalf should you fail the Breathalyzer test and be charged with driving while intoxicated. If you’ve failed a Breathalyzer test, you need more than a lawyer, you need a Lawyer/Scientist, contact us at the Law Offices of Tad Nelson & Associates immediately so that we can begin working on your defense.

What Happens if I Fail My Breathalyzer Test?

Houston DWI Lawyer Tad A. Nelson