Court Opinion

ID: 9587715
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 23:25:33.555019+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:34:30.127761
License: Public Domain

Beasley, Judge,
concurring specially.
The law provides a rebuttable factual presumption which makes the evidence sufficient in this case. OCGA § 40-6-392 (b) (3) states: “If there was at that time an alcohol concentration of 0.10 grams or more, it shall be presumed that the person was under the influence of alcohol, as prohibited by paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection (a) of Code Section 40-6-391.” Due to the results of the intoximeter test introduced in evidence, the presumption applied. It was not rebutted as a matter of law so as to remove it from the body of evidence. Hogan v. State, 178 Ga. App. 534, 536 (343 SE2d 770) (1986) concluded that: “The commission of the crime of DUI by violating OCGA § 40-6-391 (a) (1), ... or (a) (3) may include as an element of proof thereof, those presumptions or inferences which are established by OCGA § 40-6-392 (b) (1), (b) (2), or (b) (3).” (Emphasis omitted).
That itself would be sufficient to prove that the driver was a less safe one than if he had not been under the influence of alcohol.1 *
There is even more evidence, however. The officer testified that defendant stated he had one beer, he smelled of alcohol, he had bloodshot eyes, and he was unsteady on his feet. As to the latter, the officer explained that defendant “wobbled back and forth” and demonstrated to the factfinder how defendant was “moving back and forth.” The physical condition described supported a reasonable inference that defendant was not as alert mentally and did not have as much motor command for controlling the movement of the vehicle and reacting to hazard than he would have had without the alcohol *305consumption.
To hold that there must be evidence that the alcohol-influenced driver did in fact drive erratically or in violation of some traffic rule would import an element not present in OCGA § 40-6-391 (a) (1).
I am authorized to state that Presiding Judge Deen joins in this special concurrence.

 At the time of the incident here, the statute by case law included the criterion “to a degree which renders him incapable of safely driving.” Cargile v. State, 244 Ga. 871, 873 (1) (262 SE2d 87) (1979). In that case the Supreme Court equated that wording with the “less safe” language. See Howell v. State, 179 Ga. App. 633 (1) (347 SE2d 358) (1986). As of July 1, 1988, the statute has been amended to use expressly the “less safe to drive” language. Ga. L. 1988, p. 1893, § 2.