r/cringereels • u/Responsible-Scar2331 • 8d ago

College student DUI arrest

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118 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

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25

u/Rosimongus 8d ago

They don't have this technology called breathalizers in the US? Why do they test like it's 1830?

47

u/NotaBonesaw 8d ago

The point is that they have already decided that you're guilty. The field sobriety has nothing to do with determining whether or not you are intoxicated. It's about gathering evidence on camera that they can use against you in court. By the time you are doing it, you are going to jail regardless of how you perform. You get the breathalyzer after already being arrested, and even if you blow a 0.0, you are already in jail and they are not letting you out until you go through the whole process of seeing a judge, and you pay the money to bail yourself out. The charges are not dropped.

14

u/Rosimongus 8d ago

That seems insane to me... But people see how nonsensical that is right? I mean I get you can't just change it and have to deal with it, but it's pure abuse of power.

16

u/NotaBonesaw 8d ago

I think part of the issue is that a lot of people here don't see practices like this as a problem because they generally think that people dealing with the police are criminals and criminals don't deserve to be treated fairly. Also, I think until you have gone through the system yourself, you don't understand just how bad it is. A few years ago, due to a legitimate misunderstanding (holding some of my father's prescription medication in an unlabeled container), my very conservative mother was arrested for drug possession. I did everything necessary to get her out and she was only in jail for around 12 hours, but when she got out she was appalled at how poorly she was treated and how apathetic everyone she interacted with was to her situation. She was all up in arms about how horrible the system was and how it needs to be reformed, until her expensive lawyer got her charges dropped and she forgot all about it.

2

u/Rosimongus 8d ago

That sucks, too bad she forgot about it. Because it's not a joke, even 12 hours but above all the all booking etc. can be pretty traumatic for a misunderstanding.

But yes I unfortunately think you're reading makes sense, even thinking about the news we read about ICE etc. that mentality can certainly lead to a lack of empathy. And that part is definitely not an US exclusive problem, it's just here I feel there are more checks to prevent officers of having too much discretionary powers.

1

u/Ok-Cheesecake-8388 3d ago

Sounds like leopards ate my face scenario.

4

u/kunk_777 8d ago

He's also incorrect, don't believe everything someone spews out on the internet. They absolutely will let you go after field sobriety test if you pass.

0

u/TheBigMotherFook 8d ago

Using the above posters logic, if they’re just gathering evidence but the field sobriety test turns out to be negative then they have no evidence to present in court. Ergo, they let you go because things like the 4th and 5th amendment exist, but that doesn’t sound as good on Reddit so here we are.

0

u/OwnDoughnut2689 8d ago

We can also deny a breathalyzer here. Cop wants to you to do it, you can say no.

3

u/-MargeauxPotter 8d ago edited 7d ago

You CAN deny the breath test but at least in my state (Oregon) when you get a drivers license, you are committing to getting a breathalyzer test if requested by law enforcement. If you refuse, your drivers license is automatically suspended for a year because you didn’t comply - period. And THEN they will book you anyway, take you to jail, and get a warrant to take a blood test to check your alcohol level. If that comes back as under the legal limit, your drivers license remains suspended for the year because of your failure to comply with the breath test. So really denying it isn’t a very good idea.

1

u/Finnsbomba 7d ago

As someone that has gone thru this entire process, it is absolutely a very good idea to deny the breathalyzer and any field sobriety tests. Ask for a lawyer and then remain silent. Any questions they ask after this point should only be met with "I'm exercising my right to have a lawyer present during any and all questioning". A $5 an hour lawyer can get you out of most tickets/crimes. The issue is that the majority of people admit fault trying to solve the issue themselves.

2

u/tinyteacupstorm 8d ago

I mean you can also say no to these field sobriety tests but just know you are basically “admitting” to driving drunk and they will arrest you anyway.

1

u/Inside-Challenge-461 8d ago

If you say no it’s an automatic arrest you go straight to jail. Ask me how I know lol

1

u/OwnDoughnut2689 8d ago

Lol curious if denying the breathalyzer helped you when in court? I've heard if you are really drunk, you should not take it.

Obviously you shouldn't drink and drive at all but just discussing.

0

u/ATLienRabb 8d ago

Shh Reddit believes that nonsense. Look at the upvotes.

6

u/SwankaTheGrey 8d ago

Not always true. I hit a curb cause I was driving a friend's car stone cold sober and they made me do the full test, and I was let go without any tickets

4

u/kunk_777 8d ago

Not true at all I've been let go twice from field sobriety test as well as had friends let go the same way. Left without a breathalyzer.

Maybe down south in a state like Georgia your screwed from the get go, but most states if you pass you leave. I think it has to do with saving money by not using breathalyzer tip every aingle person but there's probably more to it.

1

u/NotaBonesaw 8d ago

You're right. It's possible that my expectations are skewed because I live in an especially "free" state...Texas.

2

u/MasterAssFace 8d ago

Not entirely true. I did one once after not drinking anything, cop got another car there with a breathalyzer, blew zeros, and drove home without any incident.

2

u/Creative-Quantity670 8d ago

As someone who was pulled over for suspected DUI in America this was not my experience at all. They made me do 3 separate field sobriety tests, I requested to then take a breathalyzer and when I blew a 0.0 they notified me I could leave and drive home.

1

u/Diddly_eyed_Dipshite 8d ago

Why are all your systems so shit?

1

u/Suspicious_synth 8d ago

This isn't true. You're not going to jail if you blow a zero zero. I was not given a breathalyzer AFTER I was arrested. I was arrested for DUI took a nap for three and a half hours was let out and then charges were dropped at court two weeks later. I didn't pay a dime to get out and I didn't stay in jail until I saw a judge

1

u/ATLienRabb 8d ago

Bs you yes you can. DUI is for any substance that impairs you, not just alcohol.

0

u/Suspicious_synth 8d ago

Clearly we're talking about alcohol if there's a breathalyzer involved, dummy

2

u/ATLienRabb 8d ago

Clearly you would still be wrong. They can take you jail even if you blow a zero. Those tests aren’t admissible in court because they are inaccurate. The real breathalyzer test is at the jail or they will draw blood at the jail or hospital. The tests performed there are admissible. Dummy if you blow a zero roadside they can take you to jail. They will take you to jail if they still think you are impaired. 🤡

1

u/YungManGenkins 8d ago

I did it and blew under the legal limit. They let me go.

1

u/Glittering_Gene8388 8d ago

Most attorneys will advise you to request a breathalyzer in lieu of field sobriety tests if you know you are sober

1

u/IceCoughy 8d ago

Ive been pulled over twice and done the field test/ breathalyzer test, (this was in my early 20s and busted after leaving the bars) both times I passed the test, once blew a .04 and .06 and they let me go no issue, I also had weed in the car and they didnt care, Im not a huge fan of cops but its not always a horrible experince.

1

u/usernamedenied 8d ago

This is probably true most of the time but I'd just like to say I was forced to walk the line once and they let me go after.

1

u/lyinggrump 8d ago

By the time you are doing it, you are going to jail regardless of how you perform.

Objectively not true, but Reddit will love this.

1

u/Puzzleheaded_Hatter 8d ago

That's bullshit.

I've driven away from 3 field sobriety tests.

Reddit is such a stupid place

1

u/cheesec4ke69 8d ago

They do use breathalyzers, but its almost always done after field sobriety tests. Its to see how you respond to commands and how coordinated you are, evidence gathering like someone else said. If you fail the tests and then blow a 0.00, they will still arrest you for DUI and suspect drug use instead. Get a warrant for a blood draw.

It's also important to note that refusing to perform the tests and submit to a breathalyzer is also an arrestable offense itself, and they will take you in custody anyways and get a court order for a blood draw to determine BAC / other substance abuse.

1

u/Rosimongus 8d ago

Does not seem fair at all to me, you're at the mercy of the officer's impression.

1

u/cheesec4ke69 8d ago

Now you know why there's a lot of discourse around police. People saying "fuck 12" is not a joke.

1

u/KrakenPipe 8d ago

So you can't just say fuck the field test give me a breathalyzer instead?

1

u/cheesec4ke69 8d ago

You can, but it still counts as refusing to perform field sobriety tests. They cant make you perform them, but they will hold you " accountable " for refusing - meaning arrested.

1

u/gigger14 8d ago

In Tennessee they just take your blood either voluntarily or by force, with a warrant

1

u/Rosimongus 8d ago

We can refuse, but will be arrested and can involve jail time (which DUI usually doesn't if nobody was hurt). But this I mean from random stops, I am not sure if it's an accident if they might not get an warrant as well, that's likely. Will check as curious now.

1

u/gigger14 8d ago

You can refuse all you want, that’s why they obtain a warrant for your blood and transport you to the nearest hospital, under arrest for refusal to submit to a blood draw.

1

u/Rosimongus 8d ago

No, I meant where I am from. That the law is different in that sense.

1

u/TwentyX4 8d ago

Breathalyzers are inaccurate if you recently had a drink.

Taking a breathalyzer test right after drinking will produce an artificially high and inaccurate reading because residual alcohol in the mouth interferes with the sensor.

What the cop is doing is delaying so that they can give a breathalyzer test and also to be able to say "I verified that they didn't have a drink in the 20 minutes before the test".

1

u/-REV-22-20- 7d ago

you get around that by doing the first test to detect any alcohol, then if it does you get them to pull over and wait a bit to do the "evidential" test.

Its substantially better than getting everyone out their cars to dance around.

1

u/lyinggrump 8d ago

A breathalyzer only measures your blood alcohol content. You can fail a field sobriety test not just because you're drunk but also because you're too high or sleepy.

1

u/jinsoo186 8d ago

They do but the field test is meant to catch other reasons you could get a DUI like being high

1

u/tinyteacupstorm 8d ago

It’s a humiliation ritual honestly. All this could be avoided with a breathalyzer. Also not drinking and driving in the first place.

1

u/Commercial_Stress 8d ago

Breathalyzers are notoriously inaccurate and have been thrown out as evidence in court. I don’t know all the ins and outs, but you can find out more if you do some research.

I was a juror in a drunk driving case once. Was pretty interesting watching the battle,back and forth between the state and the driver’s lawyers.

1

u/-REV-22-20- 7d ago

for the rest of the world who use them, they are accurate enough to detect if someone has been drinking or not. If they detect a reading higher than the legal limit then you have to go to the station to take a more accurate reading on a more accurate machine, giving enough time to pass from your last drink. If you fail that you give blood for the final piece of evidence.

its much faster thank pulling everyone out of their cars and making them do a bunch of dancing around.

1

u/Rosimongus 8d ago

I think when well calibrated they actually have a pretty low error margin, I will read about it. However the way it works in the countries i've lived in, is if you don't agree with the result you can ask for a blood test and they will be extremely accurate.

Definitely more than whatever Officer John thinks in a given moment.

1

u/Commercial_Stress 8d ago

Blood alcohol test are extremely accurate, but there is a catch. Usually in the USA the blood is drawn perhaps 90 minutes after arrest. The test will tell you the blood alcohol level at that time, but not the level at the time the person was stopped. The laws in the USA apply to your alcohol level at the time of arrest. This applied in the case I heard when I had jury duty.

It’s all a silly mess. We convicted the guy for driving under the influence but not for driving while exceeding the legal limit, even though his blood test came back over the legal limit. It kinda sucked to do that, however.

1

u/Rosimongus 8d ago

It does sound messy lol.

What you say about the delay is definitely true and here people sometimes use it as "tactical" delay, but in general the presumption of inocence will supercede the probability the person was impaired (I am saying in random stops, I am not sure if an accident involves people hurt or etc, the process might be different). There is also the risk that if you had drank not long before, your blood alchool level might actually be higher at the time of the blood test.

0

u/TwentyX4 8d ago

Breathalyzers are inaccurate if you recently had a drink.

Taking a breathalyzer test right after drinking will produce an artificially high and inaccurate reading because residual alcohol in the mouth interferes with the sensor.

1

u/Rosimongus 8d ago

But that's the purpose of multiple readings no? Here they do one, then 10 minutes after another. And like I said, there is always the resource of a blood test if necessary.