When a person is pulled over for DUI, he or she expects to receive the same treatment despite their sex; yet, this isn’t always the case. Men and women exhibit physiological differences that can surprisingly affect the results of a DUI breath test. According to a Washington State DUI lawyer who has extensively studied the differences between the breath test results of men and women, DUI breath test machines do not make adjustments when recording data based on important factors like sex, height, and weight.
The machine relies upon a single combination of settings to produce results and fails to recognize physiological differences between test subjects, which has facilitated the production of exaggerated test results from women. A false high positive can provide misleading evidence to support the notion that a DUI suspect was far more incapacitated than she really was. Without a strong DUI lawyer to investigate her breath test results, a female DUI suspect may be subjected to unintentional bias after she is arrested.
The Effects of Lung Capacity on a DUI Breath Test
One of the main physiological differences between men and women which affects DUI testing is lung capacity. According to the article Sex Differences in Respiratory Function, statistically, women have smaller respiratory systems — which leads to reduced lung capacity — than men. How does lung capacity hurt women during a DUI breathalyzer test?
When a person takes an alcohol breath test at a police station, he or she must inhale ambient air and exhale a sample of at least 1.1 liters of air to begin the test. A female test subject must inhale from deep within her lungs to satisfy this requirement. In this scenario, the female test subject would need to exhale deeper into her lungs than a male test subject of the same height and weight. Thus, the female’s breath sample comes from a different place in the lungs than the male’s. This is important because a breath sample that comes from deep in the lungs has a higher concentration of alcohol.
Do women face discrimination when they submit a breath sample?
The Washington-based lawyer who has extensively researched this topic believes that requiring women to blow from deeper within their lungs than men is unlawful discrimination because the majority of the alcohol exhaled from the lungs stems from the deeper section of the lungs. Ultimately, if women continue to submit breath samples to the same breath test machines as men, the machines will keep picking up deep lung air. The deep lung air will cause the machines to produce to higher readings, putting women at greater risk of producing exaggerated results.
A blood test would provide a more accurate depiction of a person’s blood alcohol concentration, whether he or she is male or female; however, a law enforcement officer would need to justify a warrant to the judge to receive a warrant to solicit a blood sample.
Don’t Rely On Just Any Lawyer to Fight your DUI in West Palm Beach
You might be surprised to learn about all the different ways a DUI can affect your life when you face a DUI charge. Don’t wait to contact a qualified lawyer in West Palm Beach to tackle the charge; the sooner you work with a lawyer, the more he can do to help your case, including the possibility of blocking inaccurate evidence from being used against you. Find out how attorney Brian P. Gabriel of The Law Office of Gabriel & Gabriel can fight your DUI charge by calling 561-622-5575 or completing a contact form.
For more than 30 years, Brian P. Gabriel has staunchly defended alcohol charges in and around West Palm Beach. From challenging breath test results to DUI stops, there are many factors that may negatively impact your case. The goal at The Law Office of Gabriel & Gabriel is to help you reduce or eliminate your charge so that you can move on with your life. Protect your freedoms and privileges with representation from an experienced attorney.