| As far as taking a breath test goes, if the officer (in Kansas) had enough probably cause to arrest you for DUI, then it is in your best interest to ake any and all tests he then requests. As it was earlier stated I believe, if you are arrested for DUI and refuse to take a breath test as requested by an LEO, then you can say good bye to driving for a year. I believe this even applies if you take the DUI to court and are found not guilty. When you sign your DL, there are certain things you agree to, one of those being submitting to breath/blood/or urine tests to determine if you are under the influence when operating a motor vehicle. By signing then and then refusing to do it, the state is gonna take your license.
With breath vs blood...it is widely known that a blood test will more than likely show a higher concentration than a breath test will. However, the Intoxilyzer 5000 is the instrument the Kansas Dept of Health and Environment has designated as accurate in measuring alcohol concentration based on breath. A breath sample is much easier and faster to get than going to the hospital, packaging the blood sample, and sending off to the KBI for reading.
Also - just because you refuse a breath test, dont think you would get out of a DUI. DUI's can be proven in Kansas by two means - the per se law, which says if someone is over .08 BAC and operating a vehicle, they are DUI. The other is to show the person could not safely operate a vehicle because of alcohol and/or drugs in their system. This comes into play when a vehicle is seen banging off of curbs, running red lights, sitting at green lights, weaving, etc, along with an odor of alcohol, bloodhot or watery eyes, admission to drinking, etc. Field sobriety testing shows if the person is physically impaired and officer have spent many hours in training to give and read the results of these tests. Everyone is different - someone who is .200 might seem to be able to drive just fine due to years and years of drinking, while another person might be .060 and cant stand up on two legs. Both could be considered DUI.  |