DWI BAC Alcohol Level/Limit in North Carolina

BAC, or blood alcohol content, is defined as the amount of unabsorbed alcohol in your bloodstream. In North Carolina, and across the country, the legal limit for the blood alcohol content of a person who is driving is 0.08%. How is this number determined? And what, exactly, does it mean if your BAC is above the legal limit?

Measuring Your BAC

If an officer pulls you over and has probable cause to believe that you have been drinking, he will request that you submit to either a breath, blood or urine test. These chemical tests measure the amount of alcohol that is in your system. For example, blood test will measure the ratio of grams to alcohol per grams of blood. Similarly, the breath test measures a breath to blood ratio. If the ratios of the test(s) measure above a 0.08%, your level is above the legal limit.

Defending Your Test Results

A BAC reading at or above the legal limit will result in a charge of DWI per se; that is, you are deemed intoxicated because your BAC was at or above the 0.08% threshold established by the state. Although it may seem that a high BAC reading will indefinitely result in a conviction, there are many ways that your attorney can defend you against this evidence. Depending on the timeline of events leading up to your test, your result could be erroneous. If your blood alcohol was rising at the time you were tested, for example, or if the machine that the officer used was not calibrated properly, the results of your breath test may not be admissible in your case.

The science and legality of blood alcohol testing can be complicated. A local DWI defense lawyer in Charlotte will understand the importance of a breath test result in a DWI case and work diligently on behalf of each client to mount an effective defense.