How To Beat a Breathalyzer Test!

      Beat the Breathalyzer!

What commonly causes false positives for breathalyzers? 
AND How can you legally challenge the validity of a breathalyzer? 

This information will help you BEAT THAT BREATHALYZER!

First, What is the law?
Utah uses the Intoxilyzer 8000 breath-testing machine made by CMI. Pursuant to Utah Administrative Code R714 – 500, these machines must be certified every 40 days or less. There are many Utah DUI cases that get dismissed because the certification was NOT VALID.

SO, If you were recently breathalyzed, you should obtain the certification records of the machine to ensure it was certified in the past 40 days. If it wasn't, the test is invalid and you beat the breathalyzer!

Next, as I mentioned in my previous post about fighting a DUI, Utah follows what's called the Baker Standard. This standard requires the police to ensure that absolutely nothing is in your mouth 15 minutes prior to taking the breathalyzer test. 

WHY? Because breathalyzers can pick up "residual mouth alcohol." - (thats the alcohol that is still in your mouth even after you drink it).  So if you have breath spray, gum, tobacco, or anything in your mouth, it will hold that alcohol in your mouth and raise the BAC reading on the Breathalyzer! THIS ALSO MEANS that the police officer administered the test improperly, and the test is invalid!

Finally, Breathalyzers are not %100 accurate! Usually, Breathalyzers are only accurate within .003%. This means, if you have a 0.08% BAC and are charged with DUI, a good lawyer can convince the jury that the breathalyzer results are inaccurate AND YOU COULD BE ACQUITTED!

Tips and Tricks

Some tips that don't work:

• Burping directly into the machine. The alcohol in your stomach is often higher than that in your lungs. However, food and time can reverse that effect.

• Holding your breath. By holding your breath before you exhale into the machine, you allow more time for alcohol to diffuse into your breath. 

• Breath Sprays. These have alcohol in them! You will raise your breathalyzer result by using them before the breathalyzer! 

• Mouthwashes: Listerine is about 27% alcohol. Again, don't try to cover the smell of alcohol. You will raise your Breathalyzer results!

Some tips that have potential to work:

• First, don't follow the officer's orders to "keep blowing." Every officer tells you to keep blowing until you can't anymore. WHY? because when you force the air out of the bottom of your lungs, you are forcing out the air that is most saturated with alcohol! Don't fall for it! Don't overexert your breath! Give a normal breath into the breathalyzer.

• Hyperventilating prior to taking the test. Chemically, this causes the gaseous alcohol in your lungs to be replaced with fresh oxygen. By breathing quickly, and a lot, you exhale more alcohol than what is being diffused into your lungs.  By the time you blow into the breathalyzer, the alcohol in your lungs is thought to have reduced temporarily.

• There are products out there that claim to reduce "residual mouth alcohol." Although these products are controversial, some claim they work. (an example here) The products work like asthma inhalers, but fill the mouth with corn syrup, masking the residual mouth alcohol. However, breathalyzers are supposed to measure the alcohol in your lungs, not your mouth. 

These tricks, however, are risky. I would not rely on the possibility of asking the officer for a moment to hyperventilate so you can reduce the test results. INSTEAD, you should challenge the validity of the test by using the LAW.

What do you do?
So next time you are pulled over, don't ask for a second and begin hyperventilating. Instead, watch for an improper administration of the test by the officer. Was something in your mouth within 15 min prior to the breathalyzer? Did the officer keep an eye on you for the entire 15 min? 

You can also keep an eye on the time. The officer must wait 15 minutes from the time that he checks you mouth. So when he asks you to open your mouth, glance at your watch. 

Check the certification of the breathalyzer! These things are often not certified properly!

Finally, GET A LAWYER! Paying a lawyer $1000 beats paying the State a dime! You don't lose your license, and you don't get a record! (especially because In Utah, a third DUI in ten years is a FELONY! And carries up to a FIVE YEAR SENTENCE! The first DUI can be up to $1500 fine) Don't mess around. Get a lawyer the first time. 

For a complete sentencing guidelines on DUI in Utah, Check out my previous post on fighting DUIs.