As a Tampa DUI attorney, I am often asked about the role of a DUI urine test during the investigation and prosecution of a DUI trial. As we’ve discussed elsewhere in our blog – implied consent and Florida law provide for three approved chemical tests to determine the presence of alcohol and/or any other substances, which may be affecting one’s ability to drive. The three available tests include breath test, DUI urine test and blood test. We discuss the issues with each test elsewhere on our Tampa DUI attorney blog, which can be found by clicking the DUI keywords highlighted below this article. We have also included a link to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Alcohol Testing Program.
While all these tests have their shortcomings and strengths, the shortcomings of the DUI urine test are notable for several reasons. First, they are well known to be inaccurate with regards to alcohol consumption because urine is measuring a byproduct of your body, a waste product. While breath tests or blood tests, certainly have their own shortcomings, they are at least attempting to measure the current presence of those intoxicants in your system, while a urine test is measuring the waste product or the byproduct of the consumption of alcohol or a controlled substance in your system. Another shortcoming of the urine test, it is simply unable to determine when someone took either a controlled substance or consumed alcohol. For example, if someone consumed alcohol and/or a controlled substance 12 hours before, it’s difficult to imagine that is still affecting one’s ability to drive. Further, it’s well known that alcohol tests are especially difficult to read urine because of a number of factors, including but not limited to the weight of the individual consuming the alcohol, speed of the consumption of alcohol, etc. Those factors effect nearly all aspects of a urine test and certainly call into question the results of any such test.
If you or someone you know has questions concerning DUI urine tests in their driving under the influence arrest or they have concerns about the presence of a controlled substance in their urine test, contact the Tampa DUI attorneys of Hackworth Law for a free case consultation. We have handled thousands of DUI and traffic related cases in the Tampa Bay area. If you’d like to contact one of our Tampa attorneys immediately, please use the “contact us now” tab in the upper right hand corner of our website. Thank you for checking out our Tampa DUI attorney blog and we look forward to hearing from you.