Our Chicago DUI Lawyers have reported on the increase in Drunk Driving arrests for women. Now researchers at the University School of Medicine in Trieste, Italy suggest that women might be more likely to show a higher reading on a breathalyzer than men – even if both have the exact same BAC.

Do DUI Laws Discriminate Against Women?

LONG BEACH, Calif., Aug. 31 /PRNewswire/ — Los Angeles DUI lawyer Lawrence Taylor claims that the current DUI laws discriminate against women. Taylor, nationally-known author of the book Drunk Driving Defense, cites researchers at the University School of Medicine in Trieste, Italy, who found that women have less alcohol dehydrogenase than men. With less of the enzyme that breaks down alcohol in the stomach, women reach the same blood alcohol concentration as men after drinking only half as much.

The scientists found that women reached blood alcohol levels illegal in a DUI case after drinking 20 to 30 percent less alcohol than men of equal weight. The scientists’ conclusion was reported in 322(2) New England Journal of Medicine 95: legislatures need to consider sex differences in drafting DUI laws.

Taylor, who heads a law firm of Los Angeles DUI lawyers and Orange County DUI lawyers, cites another study reporting lower partition ratios in women – the ratio of alcohol in the breath (measured by breathalyzers in DUI cases) to alcohol actually in the blood. The breathalyzer assumes a ratio of 2100:1, but that is only an average and varies from person to person.

According to a study in the scientific journal Analytical Toxicology, women have significantly lower partition ratios than men. And the lower the ratio, the higher the reading — even though the true blood alcohol level does not vary. The Los Angeles DUI lawyer says this means that a woman with a true level of .06% and a ratio of 1500:1 will produce a reading on the machine of .09% — above the legal limit.

Put another way, Taylor says, the breathalyzer will show an average man accused of drunk driving to be innocent — but a woman with the same blood alcohol level to be guilty.

And then, Taylor says, there’s the problem of birth control…

Scientists in Canada have found that women taking oral contraceptives appeared to reach peak blood alcohol levels faster than women not taking them (Canadian Society of Forensic Science Journal 17 (1982)). Making the problem worse, other studies report higher levels of acetaldehyde on their breath, due to the decreased ability to metabolize the enzyme as the level of sex steroids increases (8(4) Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 352).

The Los Angeles DUI attorney explains that most breath machines are unable to tell acetaldehyde from alcohol. Result: a false reading…and a possible DUI conviction.

The Law Offices of James E. Fabbrini have years of experience protecting people charged with drunk driving. From first time offenders to felonies, our Chicago DUI lawyers have successfully fought DUI charges in Chicago and the surrounding areas.

Protect your freedom, avoid trouble, and save yourself money. Contact our office today. All consultations are absolutely free. Call us at (312) 494-3131 or e-mail us your questions at Contact@WindyCityLawFirm.com