One of the things I learned- or rather, was reinforced- from this event was that the government is not necessarily always on the peoples' side. Oh, I know that the whole purpose of heavy punishment for drunk driving is to benefit the people as a whole. Vehicles are essentially weapons and when you get behind the wheel drunk, you're playing with a loaded gun. No matter what happened, I am grateful that we have laws that protect us from those who don't take this seriously. But sometimes it seems the government is the parent that says 'because I said so' with no logic or interest that maybe...just maybe...they're not always right.
My lawyer told me some frightening things about the use of breathalyzer machines. Assuming that a device is properly maintained and properly callibrated, it can measure BAC fairly well. However, it doesn't take into account temperature and other factors that can skew results. Diabetics and acid reflux sufferers can show high BAC results even if they haven't had a single drink. Using an asthma inhalers or dental adhesives can create false results. If you burp or hiccup before your test, you can show false or skewed results. Tobacco smoke blood, vomit, dirt, moisture, and other such things can also provide misleading results. If you work around paint lacquers, cement, varnishes, glue, or even some types of automotive materials you can produce false results. Even eating foods baked with alcohol or taking cough syrup, using mouthwash, mouthspray, or (in some cases) lip balm can distort results. Temperature plays a big part, too- not just the air temperature, which the machine is supposed to be callibrated to- but your body temperature. The only thing I was told at the station that could affect my results was the burping and hiccupping. The officer explained to me that there would be a 20 minute observation period where I was not permitted to do any of these things. Other than that, I had no way of knowing that any of these other issues might present a problem with my test.
At the time of the test and since days, weeks before, I'd been suffering from severe heartburn. It had been exacerbated by the events of the day and gotten worse just before I left the restaurant the night of my accident. Who would know that would be a problem? Even the officer had been surprised that my BAC was so high and had risen since the field test, but there's a good chance he didn't know there were so many variables that could have affected my results, either. I didn't know that I could have asked for a blood test, either. That might have cleared up some of the doubt.
In my case, it turns out I have acid reflux. I guess I should be grateful that incident this prompted me to go see a gastroenterologist. I've apparently been suffering with this for quite some time as evidenced by a number of ulcers found during my endoscopy. They also found the valve separating my stomach and throat is herniated. It was an ah-ha moment for my lawyer. The breathalyzer would have greatly skewed my results because my stomach was constantly emitting alcohol and this was not stemming from my lungs. So, the math would have been right, but the breathalyzer was wrong...I should have been found to be under the legal limit. And this could explain how the field results were lower than the in-station results, which were taken at least an hour apart (though there is some debate on reliability of the field units). It made me feel much better about the judgement I'd given myself that night when I decided to drive home. If I'd truly been that drunk, I think I'd know...hell, I'd be on the floor passed out if the breathalyzer results had been correct.
My medical issue was used to dismiss the BAC certificate from my case. This meant that the case was judged soley by the police officer's observations of me and the field sobriety tests (and there's a whole separate load of issues I've found with those).
What worries me is how many others have been in this situation who weren't drinking or were below the legal limit and were falsely arrested or convicted based on inaccurate readings from the breathalyzer tests? And why is it that we had to fight this so hard on this issue when so much evidence has been produced for the courts that this is a serious flaw in the machines? The government has disallowed the selling of these units to the public. That concerns me. So, okay, we know there's a problem and results can be misleading, but we're not going to let anyone outside the agencies that use them test them. Huh? Why hide that? Wouldn't access and unbiased testing improve the machines' accuracy? Isn't that in the best interest of everyone?
Besides exterior factors that can lead to false results from the machines is the issue regarding callibration. On my certificate, there was a window where this information should have been visible, but it was blocked out. My lawyer told me that is where the callibration test of the machine would show up. However, because they'd had so many cases where this was an area of debate, it was decided that this would be blocked out on the certificate. Again, huh? So, your life is in the balance based on the results of a machine that may or may not have been working properly at the time it was used. Even something small could throw it off- like temperature. In my case, the machine was callibrated back in the summer. It was winter when I was tested and the air temperature could easily have changed since then- it was very cold in the station and I'm guessing it's not the room is not the same air temperature in the summer. My lawyer had to ask for the information about the machine, but the police were not entirely forthcoming about it. They were given the date it was last callibrated, but now how it was callibrated to see if it was done properly.
This just begs examination. I feel in some ways I was robbed. If my field breathalyzer had shown under the legal limit, and I know it would have, then I doubt I would have been arrested. My field sobriety tests were questionable- both in the results and how they were conducted- so I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened. I had 4 glasses of wine over a period of just over 5 hours with water in between the wine. According to the charts all over the internet and what I learned in Health Class in high school, the average person can have 1 serving of alcohol per hour and stay below the legal limits. I've always been very careful to follow those guidelines. The math would show that I would be somewhere between a 0.045% or 0.075% BAC that night. My accident was due to a mistake I made at the wheel, a mistake I almost made again a few weeks later. It's a bad spot on the road (there was even a news report on it a month ago about how dark and dangerous that area is for motorists) and if you're not paying 150% attention...well, the results were on the barrier I scraped because there was a rainbow of scrapes on the same wall from countless other mishaps at the same spot.
Now, I'm facing a whole new array of issues due to the breathalyzer results and now I'm paying twice as much to get through probation. And these results were dismissed in court- keep that in mind- but the system just keeps going back to them and using them at will. How is that appropriate?
I'm not advocating that we get rid of these units. I'm simply saying that if they're faulty or there are questionable issues that throw them out of whack, then these issues need to be addressed. There needs to be some mechanism to make sure a defendent is properly protected throughout their arrest, trial, and probation if they are convicted. For example, if that means that law enforcement can offer someone a blood or urine test or something else to supplement the breathalyzer, then so be it. Yes, there are some issues with other tests, but relying on a sole piece of equipment seems dangerous. The cost can be charged to the defendent. I would have gladly forked over money for that rather than go through all of this.
I'm also not debating all the hurt some drunk drivers cause where there are injuries or even death involved. I'm not complaining on their behalf. I'm someone that was definitely not drunk driving that night, but I'm caught up in a legal system that can't handle the gray areas.
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