The State of Georgia has what is known as an Implied Consent Law. With Implied Consent, any holder of a Georgia driver’s license agrees to have their blood, breath or urine tested if they are suspected of driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. Of these three types of chemical tests, urine is one of the most difficult to measure as it is prone to human error. The point of conducting such testing is to determine a driver’s blood alcohol content.

Generally, if you are stopped for drinking and driving, police will probably give you a breath test. However, if they have reason to believe you are under the influence of drugs, they will have to give you a urine test because drugs cannot be found through a breath test.

Why are urine tests unreliable?

Though it is a scientific test, a person administers and analyzes the test results, which leaves a margin of error. Unlike a blood test, a urine test measures water levels and water stays in the body for a long period of time. So if you had a few beers five hours before driving, a urine test would make it seem as though you had them right before driving.

And the same holds true when it comes to drugs in your system. A urine test has no way of knowing when a drug was taken. What appears in the urine test are actually traces of substances that have already been ingested. Let’s say for example that a few months ago you had surgery. To help with the recovery, you were prescribed pain killers. Your last dosage was three days ago, however your urine test results showed you had this drug in your system. While it was in your system, it was inactive as days had passed since you had ingested the substance.

Even a government agency has found that urine tests can be inaccurate in determining drugs in a person’s system due to the confusion of chemical compounds. Imagine taking an over-the-counter medication such as cough syrup and having your urine test result come back saying you tested positive for heroine! It has happened before.

That’s why if you have been arrested for DUI in Georgia and were given a urine test, you must contact a qualified DUI defense attorney.