If you are pulled over and suspected of DUI (driving under the influence), you probably have a thousand things running through your head, like "Why did I decide to drive after having all those beers?" or "Should I really do a breathalyzer test for the police officer?". If the police think you are drunk you will have to submit to some sort of test, but which test you give can be the difference between jail and freedom.

If you've been drinking all day and all night and you get pulled over for DUI, it doesn't matter which test you take, you'll probably still be over the legal blood alcohol content (BAC) level. But if you've only had one or two beers, the test you choose to take is very important. Let's say you had 2 beers, and an hour later you leave the bar and get pulled over. If you take a breathalyzer test right away, your BAC will still be high because it's only been an hour since you drank your beers. You might not be over the legal limit yet, but why risk it?

First, in Colorado a police officer has to wait 20 minute after pulling you over to give you a breathalyzer test. This is so he can observe you and make sure you don't do anything to try to interfere with the breath test. Never tell the police officer you agree to take a breathalyzer test, just tell him he has to wait 20 minutes before testing you. After 20 minutes, refuse to take the breath test, and insist on taking a blood test instead.

You're going to have to take one of these tests to confirm you're below the legal BAC limit, you agreed to it when you got your drivers license. "If a police officer suspect alcohol in your system, you must submit to a breath, blood or urine test, or lose your right to operate a motor vehicle immediately". By forcing them to test your blood, they will have to transport you to a hospital and have a doctor draw the blood for them. This can easily take another 30 minutes to an hour, and your BAC will go down during your trip to the hospital.

Sometimes, the blood will not be tested for blood alcohol content right away. They might even wait until days before your trial date to test your blood, and if they wait too long your blood sample might not be good. Red blood cells have a shelf life of 42 days. This means afte 42 days, they can't give you an honest answer to what your BAC was the night of your DUI, and it shouldn't be admissible in court. That alone will probably be enough to get your DUI charge thrown out in court.

Of course you should not depend on this method alone to get out of a DUI, you also need a good DUI lawyer to help keep you out of jail, but without evidence the prosecutor doesn't have much to work with.

One last thing to keep in mind is, you will probably have to pay for your blood test as the hospital if you decide to take that test. It will probably cost between $25 and $100, but that's a very small price to pay if it will keep you out of jail, and keep a DUI charge off your record.