Effects of the day on BAC

[muadman]

What is the name of your state?NC

I'm currently in the court proceedings after getting pulled over for my first DUI back in October. I blew a .10 at the station about 3am. Long story short, over the course of a 6 hour night (8pm-2am) I drank the equivilant of 7 twelve ounce beers. I'm a 310 pound male. How did I blow such a high number???? My question is, I hadn't eaten ANYTHING since 8am the morning before the night in question, and I chewed on the same 2 pieces of Dentyne Ice gum from about 9pm or 10pm until about 30 seconds before I used the BAC machine at the police station. Would either(or both) of these cause my BAC number to be higher than it really was? Is there any way to use these facts in my defense against the DUI charge?

[CdwJava]

Your BAC is what it is. The gum would have no effect (unless it is an ancient machine and it's Jim Beam gum). Seven beers in 6 hours at YOUR weight should have resulted in a BAC of about .06 (calculation off the top of my head). But, not eating, a slower metabolism, poor kidneys, etc., can all have an effect on the absorption rate.

No, your empty stomach cannot be raised as a defense.

The only way to generally beat the machine (well, to have a slim chance of it) is to hire an expensive attorney that specializes in DUI cases.

However, while it wouldn't have an effect on the BAC, chewing the gum may be a procedural violation as the officers are supposed to certify (at least in most staes) that they had continuously observed you for 15 minutes or so and you had nothing to eat or drink and did not burp.

- Carl

Originally Posted by muadman

What is the name of your state?NC

I'm currently in the court proceedings after getting pulled over for my first DUI back in October. I blew a .10 at the station about 3am. Long story short, over the course of a 6 hour night (8pm-2am) I drank the equivilant of 7 twelve ounce beers. I'm a 310 pound male. How did I blow such a high number???? My question is, I hadn't eaten ANYTHING since 8am the morning before the night in question, and I chewed on the same 2 pieces of Dentyne Ice gum from about 9pm or 10pm until about 30 seconds before I used the BAC machine at the police station. Would either(or both) of these cause my BAC number to be higher than it really was? Is there any way to use these facts in my defense against the DUI charge?

Breath tests are designed to measure chemicals in your breath; it has nothing to do with any of this stuff that you mentioned.

Originally Posted by CdwJava

Your BAC is what it is. The gum would have no effect (unless it is an ancient machine and it's Jim Beam gum). Seven beers in 6 hours at YOUR weight should have resulted in a BAC of about .06 (calculation off the top of my head). But, not eating, a slower metabolism, poor kidneys, etc., can all have an effect on the absorption rate.

No, your empty stomach cannot be raised as a defense.

The only way to generally beat the machine (well, to have a slim chance of it) is to hire an expensive attorney that specializes in DUI cases.

However, while it wouldn't have an effect on the BAC, chewing the gum may be a procedural violation as the officers are supposed to certify (at least in most staes) that they had continuously observed you for 15 minutes or so and you had nothing to eat or drink and did not burp.

- Carl

Carl...I am hijacking...but I thought you might be interested:

[url]http://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?p=849886#post849886[/url]

[1curious1]

Originally Posted by muadman

What is the name of your state?NC
I blew a .10 at the station about 3am. Long story short, over the course of a 6 hour night (8pm-2am) I drank the equivilant of 7 twelve ounce beers. I'm a 310 pound male. How did I blow such a high number????

What is "the equilivent of 7 twelve ounce beers"? What were you really drinking? Why hide it in the verbage? Did you drink steadly 1 "beer equivelant" per hour or did you wait til right before you left and take a couple of "beer equilivelents" all at once?
If memory serves and it has been awhile, studies have been able to determine that all of us , (let's assume proper bodily functions) dispel alcohol at the same rate, be we 110 pound females or 310 pound males. I'm sure that the exact data is available if you want more details. The thing is that the studies found no such rate for how the alcohol is absorbed and processed. Generally an empty stomach with hard liquor got you drunk faster than beer after dinner but... there are so many variables it would be hard to say. put some more info out and it will make it easier to home i on the point.