What Happens if I Submitted a Preliminary Breath Test?

If you submitted a PBT, in most situations the results of this test (i.e. your blood alcohol concentration or BAC) is not admissable; only the fact that your blow showed a positive or negative result on the breath alcohol screening test is admissible. For example, if you blow a 0.09, only the fact that your blow was positive for alcohol may be admitted in a probable cause hearing, not the fact that you blew a 0.09.

However, there are cases where the actual BAC measurement is admissible, such as prosecutions involving any of the following charges:

  • Driving after consuming alcohol or drugs under 21
  • Operating a school bus or child care vehicle after consuming alcohol
  • Operating a commercial vehicle after consuming alcohol 
  • Transporting an open container of an alcoholic beverage after consuming alcohol

Preliminary Breath Tests are Voluntary In Most Situations

PBTs are voluntary in North Carolina and you should refuse to blow. However, there are two situations under N.C.G.S. 20-16.3 that allow an officer to require a driver to submit to a breath alcohol screening test, including:

  • If the officer has reasonable grounds to believe the driver consumed alcohol and committed a moving traffic violation or was involved in an accident.
  • If the driver was lawfully stopped and the officer can point to specific and articulable facts that an implied consent offense occurred under N.C.G.S. 20-16.2.

 

Howard W. Long, II
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