Surprisingly, yes you can. If you are pulled over and blow below the legal limit of .08, you can still be charged with DWI. Here’s how.
Minnesota Statute 169A.20 states that a person may not drive, operate, or be in physical control of a motor vehicle when:
- they are under the influence of alcohol;
- they are under the influence of a controlled substance;
- they are knowingly under the influence of a hazardous substance that affects the nervous system, brain, or muscles of the person so as to substantially impair their ability to drive or operate a motor vehicle;
- they have an alcohol concentration of .08 or more within two hours of driving, operating, or being in physical control of a motor vehicle;
- they have an alcohol concentration of .04 or more within two hours of driving, operating, or being in physical control of a commercial motor vehicle; or
- they have any amount of a Schedule I or II controlled substance, or its metabolite, other than marijuana or tetrahydrocannabinols, in their system.
As you can see, there are a number of ways you could be charged with a DWI, and not all of them involve a number on a breath testing machine.
For example, if you were pulled over and the officer suspected you of driving while impaired, they would likely administer Field Sobriety Tests. This is a battery of tests that look for physical manifestations of impairment. If you performed poorly on those tests, the officer would likely ask you to provide a breath sample. However, even if you blew a .04, but you showed signs of impairment on the Field Sobriety Tests, you could still be charged with driving while impaired.
When it comes to DWI’s, the point isn’t whether you register at some threshold number on a breath test; the point is whether you are impaired. Impairment could be the result of any number of things—alcohol, controlled substances, even over-the-counter medications. The bottom line is that the laws prohibit a person from driving if their ability to drive is affected by their impairment.