Alcohol and drugs
After a DUI stop you agreed to a preliminary alcohol screening (PAS) and a breath test. Can you still be required to take a blood or urine test?
- Yes, to detect the presence of drugs. Correct answer
- No; once you take a breath test, no other test can be required.
- Only if the breath test showed 0.08% or higher.
Why
California's DUI laws cover drugs as well as alcohol. That is why, even after a PAS or a breath test, you may still have to give blood or urine so drugs can be detected. Driving in California counts as consent to a breath, blood or urine test whenever an officer suspects DUI, and refusing leads DMV to suspend or revoke your driving privilege. A breath result of 0.08% has nothing to do with whether a drug test may follow, which rules out the last answer. The middle answer is wrong because the breath test does not close the door on the other two.
Where this comes from
California Driver's Handbook, June 2025 edition. The correct answer is Yes, to detect the presence of drugs.
The rule behind this one
California alcohol and drug rules for drivers goes through the whole topic, with the page of the California Driver's Handbook behind every rule.
More on alcohol and drugs
- In which of these vehicles does the open container rule for alcohol NOT apply to a passenger?
- You are 35, not on DUI probation, and drive for a ride service, carrying a passenger who pays for the trip. At what blood alcohol concentration (BAC) does it become illegal for you to drive?
- Can you be convicted of DUI if your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was never measured?
- In the handbook's BAC table, one drink means 12 ounces of 5% beer. How much 12% wine counts as one drink?