Reader’s Question:

I know that the legal limit for driving after consuming alcohol would be 0.08% blood alcohol content. Question is, if I will be caught drunk driving here in Augusta, Georgia, does 0.08% apply at the time I was tested or the time of driving?

Fred

Augusta, GA

If you will be caught drunk driving in Augusta, Georgia and was tested for blood alcohol content (BAC), you need to know that it would only be against the law to drive a car with a 0.08% or more BAC at the time of driving and not at the time of testing. You will not violate any law if you were above 0.08%, waited until you were below 0.08% and then drove. If you were actually driving below 0.08% and get stopped and was tested at or above 0.08%, you still did not violate the law. But depending on when you were tested, the BAC could be relevant in determining what your actual BAC of your body at the time of driving.

The time of the test is a very hotly disputed issue because it is very rare to have a chemical test that is conducted immediately after driving. What’s very common is to have a test conducted 30, 60, or even 90 minutes after driving. If no one knew how many drinks were consumed, the period of time they were consumed, the type of drink consumed, and if there was food in the stomach, it is scientifically impossible to determine if the person was over a 0.08%, or more importantly, whether the person was under a 0.08%.

Tags: drunk driving laws, DUI, DUI lawyer