One of the most common myths about the legal DWI limit of .08% blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is that you can get a DWI above the limit and that you cannot get one below it.
That’s only half true. You certainly can get a DWI if you are above or even right at the legal limit. However, you can also get one if you are below the legal limit. The police do not lose the ability to arrest you just because they give you a breath test, and it comes back at .06%.
In reality, anything over a .00% could result in charges. It shows that you had been drinking. If the police believe that you showed signs of impairment, they can put two and two together, determine that your impairment stemmed from the alcohol use and charge you.
The “legal limit” doesn’t do much more than removing the need for the police to prove intoxication in any other way. Once you have a .08% or higher as part of your case, the court assumes impairment on your part. With less alcohol in your system, while you could be impaired, they just have to show that you were and cannot assume it from the breath test results alone.
One of the most common ways that they do this is by giving you field sobriety tests. If you fail those tests at .07%, then the authorities can make the argument that you were impaired and deserve a DWI. That puts your fate in the court’s hands, and you must know what defense options you have.