Reader’s Question:
Hi. My nephew was charged with DUI in California. I heard about this rising BAC defense. His lawyer advised him about this kind of defense. What does a rising BAC defense mean?
Sara
Salinas, CA
In California, it is against the law to have a high blood alcohol concentration while driving and not at the time the chemical test is administered. Many scientific studies show that it can take anywhere between 30 minutes to 3 hours for the alcohol to be absorbed into our system. That is why there is a possibility that a driver’s BAC could continue to rise after he was stopped and arrested.
There is approximately one hour between the time the driver is arrested and when a chemical test (urine, blood or breath) is administered. For example, the test result perhaps showed a .10% BAC. If the alcohol was still being absorbed into the driver’s system since the arrest, this could mean he only had a .07% blood alcohol concentration while he was driving. Although the test result showed an illegal BAC, the driver’s true BAC while driving was still legal.
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