Preliminary Alcohol Screening (PAS)

The Preliminary Alcohol Screening (PAS) is a mobile, hand-held breath analyzer which is used at the scene of a DUI arrest. Drivers who are stopped for DUI may be asked to voluntarily submit to a variety of alcohol analysis test including the Preliminary Alcohol Screening (PAS) test. Law enforcement should notify the driver at the time of the stop that the PAS is a voluntary test.

The PAS test is used primarily as a field sobriety screening test to help the officer determine if there is sufficient evidence for a DUI arrest. If the suspect is arrested, the officer will ask them to submit to a more sophisticated chemical analysis of their blood, breath or urine. The chemical test, unlike the PAS, is not a voluntary test. If the driver refuses the test they will have their license immediately suspended.

The PAS tests are a favorite tool used by law enforcement to help them make a DUI arrest because they provide a printout of the driver's blood alcohol concentration. Unfortunately, the PAS test is widely known for giving inaccurately high and unreliable BAC readings. Talk to a DUI lawyer if you believe the officer was not properly trained on the PAS machine, the PAS breathalyzer test was not done properly or the machine was not functioning properly and your BAC readings were inaccurate.