It is one of the most common police procedures in America: the breathalyzer test. This test, which is conducted at thousands of DUI stops throughout the country each year, has become so commonplace that few people would think to question the validity of the results. Some people choose to decline to take the test, but any breath test refusal attorney would probably be able to tell our Philadelphia readers that refusing the test isn’t a real good idea. In many states, including Pennsylvania, refusing a breathalyzer test will result in an automatic suspension of an individual’s driver’s license. In Pennsylvania, that suspension lasts for one year. But what if the validity of breathalyzer results was questioned? Would more people refuse to submit to a breathalyzer test? And what about other blood alcohol content testing methods, such as blood draws?

According to a recent report, at least one Pennsylvania attorney believes that there are several problems with the way BAC testing is done in the state. First, the attorney has previously indicated that breath testing methods could lead to problems in the accuracy of results. Now, this attorney is also questioning blood draw samples.

Similar to a breath test, the instruments and equipment used to analyze blood samples need to be calibrated frequently to ensure accuracy. In the case of breathalyzer tests, most use a small plastic tube which is plugged into the device and through which a suspect will blow their breath. The system is obviously quite different for blood tests, but this Pennsylvania attorney has indicated that he believes blood test results from the state police were inaccurate for a period of months.

Blood alcohol testing techniques have come under fire in Pennsylvania in recent months, and reports like this are the reason why. Philadelphia DUI test refusal attorneys will most likely start to point to cases of inaccuracies in the state if further questions arise regarding breath and blood tests.

Source: abc 27 WHTM, “Attorney: DUI blood testing inaccurate for months,” Mark Hall, April 12, 2013