There's a big difference between a DUI and a DWI. Not just legally, but financially and criminally. The only way to be certain is to know the legal limits and to take an alcohol breath test. An alcohol breath test will give you an exact alcohol to blood content, which is what the police use to enforce the drunk driving laws that are so vigilant.

Using an alcohol breath test is the most common and easy way to find out if and how much alcohol a person has consumed. In all states there are drinking laws. An alcohol breath test, usually preceded by a field sobriety test, is the way that a policeman deduces whether or not you've been drinking, and if you've been drinking excessively before or while you were behind the wheel of a car.

Once it is determined that you've been drinking an alcohol breath test will help to determine your alcohol blood content, or the amount of alcohol in your blood, which is used to distinguish the charge.

The difference being, usually by one tenth of a percentage, that you are either legally drunk and driving, which results in a driving while intoxicated charge which gives the stiffest of penalties, or that you are charged with a driving under the influence charge, which means you are guilty of having driven after imbibing alcohol, but that you weren't legally drunk.

In most states these days one is considered drunk if they blow a .10, and anything beneath that, a .008 for instance, means you will be charged with a DUI. In both cases, if you are found guilty, the penalties are severe. A DWI penalty can be life altering, requiring loss of license, substantial jail time, and large financial penalties.

Of course drinking and driving accidents kill far too many people, most of whom are innocent bystanders, so penalties should be harsh. That being said, an alcohol breath test can be an inaccurate tests, and field sobriety test can be way off. You can appear drunk if you are fatigued. It is your right to not take an alcohol breath test, but in most cases the law then presumes that you are guilty.

The best way to know for certain if you have any doubts is to not drive. Get a cab or have a designated driver drive you around. If that is not possible, the second best thing you can do is administer your own alcohol breath test. They make digital alcohol breath tests and breath analyzers that range in price from fifty dollars to a few hundred dollars that are as accurate as any breath test that the police department or government agencies might use.

Some jobs require that you take random alcohol breath tests and these are usually the devices used. The fact of the matter is that it's wrong to drink and drive and can be dangerous to you and to those around you.

The best way to avoid trouble is to simply not drink and drive. Police and prosecutors, however, rely heavily, almost solely on alcohol breath tests when it comes to drinking and driving cases. If you are involved in a drinking and driving case, it is best to have all the info available to you about the matter.

If you've been convicted before it could be imperative that you have your own way to self-administer an alcohol breath test. It could save lives.