Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC)
Under California law, and in all 50 states, your Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) can be used against you to prove that you were driving at, or above the legal limit of .08%, or for special cases below, driving at even lower alcohol levels.
The law regarding Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC)
Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) if you are over 21:
Under California law, specifically California Vehicle Code section VC 23152(b), it is illegal to operate a motor vehicle when you have above a .08%. blood alcohol content (BAC) in your body, measured by by weight. Orange County DUI Lawyers commonly defend against this statute.
Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) if you are under 21
For drivers with a DUI under age 21, the state’s “zero tolerance laws” means that the state of California will be especially harsh on drivers who are drinking and driving below age 21.
From the law’s point of view, someone under 21 is not even supposed to drink at all, and so drinking and driving is a sign of a problem violating the law.
The Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) limit for people that are under 21 is 0.01% percent. In other words, any measurable alcohol that shows up on testing equipment would violate the law for drivers under age 21 in California.
For persons convicted of an under age 21 DUI, their driving privileges are suspended for one year, as a hard suspension.
Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) if you are on DUI probation
As with drivers under age 21, the state’s laws also set a .01% blood alcohol (BAC) limit for those that have pled guilty or not contest to a . DUI, and get a DUI while on probation.
If it is proven that you were on probation, and drove with any measurable alcohol, that is, any blood alcohol in your body a .01% or higher, your driver’s license will be suspended for one year.
If you have double the legal limit (.16%) or higher Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC)
Even for first time offenders, the law has increased punishment if you are above, or at, a 0.16% blood alcohol level. That is double the legal limit of 0.08% or higher.
The prosecution can decide on a higher punishment for DUI, including community service or jail, and usually a high blood alcohol level DUI case would need to take the nine month alcohol school, instead of the first offender level one three month school.
How is Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) proven?
Under current (2017) California law, a blood alcohol concentration must be proven in a DUI case only through a blood test, or a breath test.
A different type of test, the urine test, is no longer legally valid for alcohol DUI cases, but is acceptable, and common, in Driving Under the Influence of Drugs (DUID) cases.
As any of the top DUI Attorneys in Orange County know, there are many specific defenses to breath test DUI cases, and entirely different defenses to blood test DUI cases. This is where a qualified DUI lawyer that specializes in DUI defense can help you.
Contact our DUI Defense Firm
Contact us today. If you have questions about how to fight any charges that have to do with any type of DUI case, we can help you, and are happy to discuss your case with you.