When a person is arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, the police will conduct a chemical test to determine the driver’s blood alcohol content (BAC). The three chemical tests used are breath, blood, and urine testing. Urine tests are generally only given as an option to those who are suspected of drunk driving when neither the breath nor blood test is available. The urine test is, however, an option available to the individual who is arrested for driving under the influence of drugs or driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
Urine tests have been legally challenged for years as they have a wide array of problems associated with them. They are considered the least reliable of the three types of BAC chemical tests used by the police. Even though urine tests are scientifically based, they are prone to human error and in administering such tests, strict procedures must be followed. Routinely, police and technicians fail to follow proper procedures, making the test results easily challengeable by California DUI/DUID attorneys. Furthermore, urine test results typically offer higher BAC levels due to having water levels tested rather than direct blood levels. Generally, the urine test results offer these higher readings because the alcohol has been in “water” over a long period of time compared to actual blood test levels. The concentration of alcohol in urine is about 1.33 times more than the alcohol concentration in blood.
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