breathalizer

[lowgirl]

north carolina. my brother was recently pulled over by the police in north carolina and arrested for drunk driving. the police officer gave him the breathalizer test twice before arresting him. is that legal? can they only give it to you once or as many times as they would like before the arrest you?

[wildthing]

I'm not sure if NC and Indiana have the same laws but I was pulled over here in IN and given a breath test 2 times by the same officer. Given a field sobrity test by that officer. Then sat in my car for 20 min. waiting for a 2nd officer to get there so I could be checked on his breathalizer. I contacted my attorney the next day to see if I had a law suit and he told me "NO". He told me that even after all that, the officer could have taken me to the poilce station to be checked on the machine there. So basicly, the cops can do what they want!

the police officer will conduct sobriety testing to determine if an intoxilizer test is warranted. it sounds like the officer gave you a portable breath test while roadside, and when you exceeded the legal limit, you were taken to an intricate machine at the police station, which documents your breath alcohol content much like a ekg heart machine. the machine at the station is calibrated and tested often, while the roadside handheld breathtester is more like a screening tool. remember, the alcohol breath test is a tool to prove your innocence, if you ain't innocent-don't take it.

[wildthing]

No Stevie I wasn't over the legal limit. The officer gave me 2 portable breath tests on his machine, 1 on a second machine that belonged to the 2nd officer who arrived 20 min. after I was pulled over. He also gave me the old fashion field sob. test (close eyes touch nose, walk line, ect.). The reason he went through all this was because I had a strong smell of alcohol. Which I explained to him was because I had just come from a party where I had gotten a glass of beer spilled on me by a drunk girl who bumped into me. But he refused to believe me, or his breathalizer. All 3 times I blew a Zero, I don't drink.