I had to either take a Blood test or UA for a DUI. Do they only test for alcohol? They don't use breathalyzers?

Question

In the county I got pulled over in they do not let you do a breathalyzer anymore- they either give you the option to do a UA or a blood test for a DUI. I only had 3 glasses of wine that night and 3 hours later is when I was pulled over- I chose to take the UA thinking I would be released sooner than the blood test. I am wondering if they check for other things in the UA or just alcohol since that is what I was pulled over for. No drugs were involved but I did have an un-prescribed vicodin earlier in the night since my back was hurting. Will they test for that or does that cost extra money and not relevant to the case? Also this was back in October 29th 2009 and it is December 29th 2009 and I still have not heard anything about my results from the test and I still have my license. Can anyone provide a little more insight to me? Thank you.

Answer 1

My area doesn't do urine tests. We do blood or breath (primarily breath). However, when we do blood we test for drugs and alcohol. It doesn't matter what the impairment is caused by, it is driving under the influence either way as far as the law is concerned. It is very strange that they don't do breath tests in your area. We only do blood tests when we find someone with low level (or no) alcohol in their system and high impairment.



Vicodin is a drug by the way so if you took one then drugs were involved.

Answer 2

It's DUI (driving under the influence) Not DUIA (driving under the influence of alcohol). They will test for everything. Why would you assume that a DUI is only for alcohol? It's pretty bad now but if your state has zero tollerance DUI law and you have Marijuana in your system from three weeks ago that IS a DUI. They don't care, they don't test levels. Zero tollerance is zero tollerance. As far as the time you should be getting a letter in the mail soon for your court date. They cannot take your liscence away until you have a trial so of course you stil have it. One month is nothing, if they are backed up you might not get that letter for a few months. Don't let it be a surprise, GET A LAWYER ASAP!!! Ohh yeah, an un-prescibed vicodin IS A DRUG. Do yourself a favor and do not say this (No drugs were involved but I did have an un-prescribed vicodin earlier in the night since my back was hurting) to anyone. That not true, and it will never work. Are you allowed to take Vicodin without a prescription? NO, so it's an illigal drug. Don't try to talk yourself out of this one, get a lawyer and you might get off easy. They did not forget, it's proccesing. Sorry if this is not what you wanted to hear but you have to know this. People go to jail for DUI's because they were not prepared. You should have denied the test, taken the one year suspension which you will probably get either way, and been on your way. And the last thing, of course they use breathalizers, unless they think you're high. And this cop obviously did.

Answer 3

Lots of agencies use either the Blood Test or UA's now, specifically due to the high number of people who are under the influence of other substances, i.e., prescription drugs, illegal drugs, etc.



Yes, the test WILL reveal that you had a vicodin in your system and along with the ingestion of wine, you'll probably end up being filed on for DUI/DWI.



And your statement that 'no drugs were involved' is not truthful. If you took a medication not prescribed to you, you are a drug user and that substance was in your system.



Good Luck... you'll need it.

Answer 4

Having one glass of wine per hour....(3 glasses and was pulled over 3 hours later)...would be considered a reasonable amount of time for the alcohol in your system to dissipate.



I don't think you have to worry!



Taking the Vicodin without a prescription is a violation for you and would have been a felony offense had you been found in possession. It is also a felony offense against the person who gave it to you.



A medical term...Synergistic Effect...is something you may wish to look up! It applies when you put an Opiate and Alcohol together.

Answer 5

The only test that gives immediate results is the breathalizer. The others take time to get the results.



But if you were stupid enough to have wine and then drive, I don't believe for one second you had three glasses and then drove three hours later. And you had illegal drugs in your system, so clearly you're lying about everything. I'm guessing you were drunk and had more drugs than you're telling us.



It's a DUI. Good luck, and please, be truthful next time.



Hope this helps.

Answer 6

More than likely when it comes back that you were not drunk, I bet you'll be ok. I don't think they would look in to seeing if you were prescribed vicodin. I don't think you need to worry.

Answer 7

don't drink alcohol