When someone is stopped for a DUI in Phoenix, or for that matter, anywhere in Arizona, the police will sometimes ask the driver to undergo what is called a preliminary breath test, or PBT.  The PBT looks like a little, handheld portable breath machine that some police officers carry in their squad cars.  There are two very important points about the PBT in an Arizona DUI case.  

First, you have the absolute right to refuse to take the portable breath test.  Of course, the police officer will not tell you that, and he will make it seem like you do not have the right to refuse the test. Second, the results of the PBT are not admissible at trial.  

Considering those two facts, the PBT must not be that important to Arizona law enforcement, right? That is even more so considering how busy law enforcement in Arizona is during the summer months enforcing DUI.  As a recent story by Alex Gregory of ABC 15 just noted: Officials: 353 arrested for an Arizona DUI this weekend:

July 4 celebrations aren’t over yet, but statewide DUI statistics for the weekend so far are in.   As of Monday morning, 353 drivers had been arrested and charged with DUI around Arizona since July 1, Alberto Gutier, Director Governor’s Highway Safety Representative, said in an email.  Officers and deputies have encountered 39 cases of aggravated DUI, 99 extreme DUIs and 20 intoxicated drivers under the age of 21, Gutier said.

But while one may believe the PBT is not important because it is inadmissible in trial and one can refuse, my opinion is that it is one the most important tools Arizona law enforcement uses.  That is because while it is not admissible at trial to prove guilt or innocence, it is admissible at a probable cause hearing to prove the DUI officer had reasonable cause to arrest the drive and obtain a subsequent chemical test.  And while drivers have the right to refuse the PBT, very few know that or have the gumption to refuse the PBT in the face of an insistent officer.