Over the years, the technology surrounding drunk driving has gotten better. It used to be that police officers would essentially just make judgment calls about whether or not someone was impaired, likely having them perform field sobriety tests. But today, police officers can administer a breath test that measures how much alcohol is in the person’s system at the time. The legal limit is 0.08%.
Drivers in Florida need to remember that driving high could also lead to impaired driving charges. These aren’t just for alcohol use. They could apply to people who are using prescription medications – after all, some say not to operate heavy machinery, which includes the car – or people who are using illegal drugs, medical marijuana or other substances. It can be harder for the police to prove that someone is high than it is for them to prove that the driver is drunk.
A breath test doesn’t exist
The big problem is that the police are still dependent on field sobriety tests and judgment calls. They don’t have a breath test that will tell them if the person is under the influence of marijuana, for instance.
Police departments could indeed use drug tests, similar to those used by employers. But these provide long-term results, and they don’t necessarily indicate that the driver is actually impaired. For example, someone could use marijuana and still test positive for it days or even weeks later – but that wouldn’t mean that they were still high, of course. It would just be an indicator of past usage.
If you are facing such charges, it’s very important to understand the evidence against you and all of your criminal defense options.