Blood and Breath Tests in Pittsburgh

When police officers pull you over on suspicion of a DUI, it’s standard procedure for them to ask you to take one or more tests. The outcomes of these tests form the primary basis for most DUI charges. Their entire purpose is to help an officer determine if your driving ability is impaired by drugs or alcohol.

There are four main categories of tests used to assess your level of sobriety:

• Field sobriety tests conducted on the roadside
• Blood tests
• Urine tests
• Breath tests

It’s important to know that any of these tests can produce inaccurate results, indicating you are intoxicated when you are not, or vice versa. An incorrect result showing you are impaired can lead to your arrest. A skilled and knowledgeable Pittsburgh DUI lawyer will know how to scrutinize the test results, the person who administered the test, and the testing procedure itself to find any errors. Identifying these mistakes can lead to having your charges reduced or even dismissed.

Field Sobriety Tests

These tests are administered at the roadside to evaluate your balance, coordination, and how you respond to instructions, helping the police decide if you are intoxicated. The National Highway Safety Administration has standardized these tests, and they are used across all fifty states.

Walk and Turn Test

In this test, the driver is instructed to walk heel-to-toe in a straight line while counting their steps aloud. You are expected to complete this without stumbling or losing your balance. An officer might conclude you are intoxicated if you miscount your steps, fail to follow the instructions precisely, or need to use your arms for balance.

One Leg Stand Test

For this test, a driver is told to stand with their feet together. Then, they are instructed to lift one leg off the ground and balance on the other for 30 seconds while counting out loud. The officer may determine you are impaired if you hop, lower your foot, lose your count, or are unable to maintain your balance. An experienced Pittsburgh criminal lawyer understands the nuances of how these tests can be challenged.

HGN (Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus) Test

During the HGN test, you are required to follow an object—like the officer’s finger, pen, or flashlight—with just your eyes, keeping your head still. The officer is observing for involuntary, jerky eye movements, which can be an indicator of alcohol or drug consumption.

There are numerous issues with the reliability of Field Sobriety Tests. For starters, they are conducted on the side of the road, often in the dark and in whatever weather conditions are present. The road surface itself can impact your performance. Roadsides in Pennsylvania are often sloped to help with water drainage and can be uneven, narrow, or have potholes.

Various personal factors can also affect your ability to successfully complete these tests. Your age, weight, and certain medical conditions can play a role. Being overweight might make it difficult to perform the Walk and Turn or One Leg Stand tests to the officer’s satisfaction. Older adults may naturally have issues with balance. Furthermore, legal prescriptions and underlying medical conditions can prevent you from performing the tests correctly, even if you are completely sober. Another critical factor is the officer’s training. If the officer administering the test was not properly trained, their interpretation of the results could be flawed. A Pittsburgh DUI lawyer like Sean Logue at the Logue Law Group, who has been defending clients in Allegheny County for a decade, knows precisely what to look for when reviewing FST results.

Blood, Breath, and Urine Tests

In Pennsylvania, by signing for your driver’s license, you give “implied consent” to chemical DUI testing. This means if you are pulled over while driving, you are legally required to submit to one or more of these tests if an officer requests it. These chemical tests, particularly breath tests, might be conducted at a police station or state trooper barracks, but they are often performed at a hospital. Hire a Pittsburgh DUI lawyer for better assistance in this case.

Contact with us

You do have the right to refuse these chemical tests. However, refusing to submit will result in an automatic suspension of your driver’s license. If you’ve been asked to take field sobriety or chemical tests to check for intoxication while driving in Pittsburgh, it’s crucial to contact or call us at 412-387-6901 Logue Law Group immediately for expert legal guidance from a Pittsburgh criminal lawyer.