Biggest DUI Myths in Illinois

Drunk drivers continue to kill people despite the fact that they're becoming less common. Fortunately, drunk drivers are becoming less common. It’s always important to be mindful of why we shouldn’t sometimes drive after drinking alcohol. Your criminal record can make ur DUI worse. Here are a few of the biggest myths regarding DUIs.

Don't Worry about DUI Unless Your Blood Alcohol Content is 0.08

This very common DUI myth is both dangerous, and false. You can be convicted of DUI even if you have a confirmed BAC (blood alcohol level) of 0.08 or higher. If you are a commercial driver, the BAC is lower. The BAC is 0.02 to 0.04. If you seem to be driving impaired after consuming alcohol, you may be charged with DUI regardless of whether you have a confirmed BAC above 0.08. Some courts will dismiss cases depending on the blood alcohol level. However, the blood alcohol level is based on someone's body chemistry. 

If you're pulled over for drunk driving, you might want to hire an attorney who specializes in DUI defense. You could possibly challenge the validity of your blood alcohol content tests. If you're arrested for drunk driving, a skilled DUI attorney can help you get out of jail. Some defense attorneys would rather argue why you did not take a field sobriety test. However, it is so easy to fail a field sobriety test. An officer will have you take a field sobriety test. Get a public defender but do not give up. If taking prescription medication, do not drink.

Having prescription medication in your system could give you two DUIs, being under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Being under of the influence of drugs, they will not separate illegal from legal. You could be prosecuted for driving under the influence of marijuana, even if you have smoked in days. You will be brought to a police station to take a breath test.

If the police think that your faculties are affected by alcohol, even if your blood alcohol concentration is below 0.08, they can arrest you for DUI.

Even if your blood alcohol content is below .08 percent, an officer can still arrest you for DUI. And especially, if you show signs of intoxication in ur bad driving, including:

• Swerving
• Running into objects on the road
• Running into other cars

Apart from this, a police officer may also check your physical appearance, your behavior, and your balance to see if you're drunk. If he decides to take you into custody, he can do so regardless of whether your BAC is above or below the legal drinking age.

Drive Carefully to Avoid Getting Arrested for Driving Under the Influence

If you drink too much, you may be impaired enough to cause an accident. Drunk drivers are often caught by police officers who set up roadblocks. These checkpoints are designed to catch people who are drinking and operating vehicles. Your tolerance to alcohol doesn't help when you get pulled over. Even if you have a high tolerance to alcohol, you can still be very drunk and not drive carefully.

You could feel sober at the time of driving carefully, but if an officer thinks you are drunk then the officer could arrest you for a DUI. Find a private attorney to show at the time of driving you were sober to a jury. Usually, cases don't go to a jury trial. Having a perfect driving record could help, but you could still get jail time.

An example of a random act of detention would be when an LEO decides to pull you over for speeding. If suspects you of drinking, he might arrest you for DUI. A standardized field sobriety test can be administered and a chemical test(urine or blood testing) will be given to you.

Police Must Catch You Driving to Make a DUI Arrest

Fortunately, a police car doesn't need to stop you from driving drunk. If you think that's the case, you're mistaken! If an officer sees you behaving erratically, he might reasonably think you're intoxicated. However, if he arrests you, you could face charges for DUI.

In most DUI arrest situations, whether or not you actually drove a car will not matter. Most DUI arrests occur because police pull motorists over on public roadways. But there are some exceptions. If you were stopped while sitting in your car, then you may argue that you weren’t “driving” under Illinois drunk driving laws. Field sobriety tests will be given. Whether you take it or not it will be written in a police report. A law enforcement officer should not randomly detain you.

Eat a Meal or Wait at Least an Hour to Lower BAC Levels

Many people think that they can lower their blood alcohol concentration by eating something before they drink or by waiting until the booze has burned off under the legal limit. Unfortunately, neither of these things will reliably keep them from driving drunk.

Drinking may temporarily relieve some of the negative side effects of drinking alcohol but it won't change your blood alcohol content. You're most likely to reach your peak BAC at least one hour after consuming alcohol.

Drinking alcohol doesn't affect your blood alcohol concentration level when you drink it cold, even if you take a cold bath afterward. If you drink alcohol, don't drive. Have a sober friend or family member take you home. You may be able to pass a breathalyz­er test even if you've had just one or two drinks.

Gum or a Penny Can Beat a Breathalyzer

Sucking on a piece of gum won’t make you pass a drug screening. In fact, chewing gum can actually interfere with the accuracy of a urine screen. Some chewing gum contains sugar alcohols that can cause false positives on a drug screen. Sugar alcohols are not metabolized by the body, so they remain in the bloodstream longer than regular sugars. They can also affect the results of blood tests.

According to some versions of this legend, if you suck or chew on a piece of metal (such as a nickel) and then blow into a breathalyzer, the device may not register any results because the metal has absorbed enough moisture from your mouth to cause the device to malfunction. Other versions say that the device will give inaccurate results. Breathalyzer tests cannot be tricked by reading the presence of metals in your saliva. Instead, they use infrared technology to detect the presence of ethanol in your breath and calculate your blood-alcohol levels.

The reason this urban myth has endured is probably that it once had some semblance of truth. Back then, breathalyzer machines were able to detect whether someone was intoxicated based on how much they exhaled. But today, these devices can tell if someone is drunk just by measuring the concentration of carbon dioxide in their blood. A DUI sentence can range up to 6 months in jail and thousands of dollars. Most cases win if there is no wreck or other evidence of bad driving. Just because you have some drinks a couple of hours ago, that will not get you a lesser charge. That will be an impossible battle to win.

For more information about DUI laws and drunk driving arrests, call a DUI defense lawyer at Ktenas law firm. Their number is (312) 756-8652 and speak to a DUI defense lawyer for a free consultation from Ktenas Law.