If you or your loved one has been arrested for DUI, the police might have administered a chemical test using a breathalyzer after pulling you over. The breath test results might be used as proof of a blood alcohol concentration above the legal limits. However, several factors could affect the breathalyzer's accuracy. According to the National Motorist Association, there is a 50% margin of error after comparing the actual BAC and breathalyzer results. In this blog, we will discuss factors that can compromise your breath test results.
Introduction to a Breathalyzer
A breathalyzer is used to measure your blood alcohol concentration using your breath samples. The initial breath alcohol test was developed for law enforcers in the 1940s. Later in 1954, Professor Robert F. Borkenstein developed the modern device. While the brand name breathalyzer is a registered trademark, the word "breathalyzer" is a generic word for breath test devices.
How a Breathalyzer Determines Blood Alcohol Concentration
When a person drinks alcohol, it circulates into the bloodstream and reaches their lungs. The alcohol spreads out of the blood the same way as carbon dioxide, and when a person breathes, they exhale the alcoholic beverage.
The breathalyzer measures the amount of alcohol present in the breath and offers an approximation of the BAC. The blood alcohol-to-breath ratio is 1:2100. That means in every one millimeter of alcoholic beverage in the breath, there are two thousand and one hundred millimeters of alcohol in the blood.
It is a California crime to operate a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration greater than 0.08 percent. Nevertheless, the margin of error with a portable breathalyzer can go up to 15%. Sampling your blood is the correct method of testing blood alcohol concentration. However, that does not mean your results should be disputed.
Factors That Affect Breathalyzer Test Accuracy
Are you aware that a breathalyzer isn't always as correct as it should be? Unluckily, since the tests are believed to be infallible, prosecutors and the police trust them. However, after analyzing evidence, breath test devices must be scrutinized often. Thanks to the following factors that could affect the breathalyzers' accuracy:
The Breathalyzer
While the role of the device is straightforward, the way it is made is complicated. Consequently, different manufacturers use different methods and materials when making devices. And this can result in varied readings based on the model used.
The local laws should govern breathalyzers, and all of the devices should adhere to the law if the breath test results are used in a court of law. If that is not the case, your DUI defense attorney should successfully establish that the incorrect breathalyzer was used. It could result in a case dismissal.
Calibration of Your Breath Test
To ensure a thermometer is functioning, you put it in ice water and wait for it to reach thirty-two degrees. If this does not occur, then the thermometer is calibrated wrongly and should be replaced or corrected.
The same holds for breathalyzers. Since the devices are complicated, they should be calibrated correctly often. Otherwise, they will give incorrect breath results. Police officers should recalibrate the devices after use.
Single-Use Breath Testing
Since detecting alcohol in the breath isn't a precise science, several tests must be conducted to ensure that your blood alcohol concentration is above 0.08 percent.
However, most police officers only administer the breath test once. If a defendant fails, they will face a drunk driving charge irrespective of whether repeated tests will give different results. The defense attorney should be able to argue that the accuracy wasn't established well.
Radio Frequency Interference
Another factor that could result in inaccurate results is radio frequency interference. The police's radio might produce electromagnetic waves that might cause the gadget to fail. Most breathalyzers come with RFI detectors to combat the issue. Should the device detect radio frequency interference, it should cancel any ongoing breath test.
Tainted Breath Sample
Your lawyer can also raise the possibility that your sample was tainted with fumes, atmospheric vapors, or with the previous arrestee's mouth alcohol.
The police should replace a mouthpiece between tests to avoid contamination from a previous arrestee. And to prevent contamination in the atmosphere, the breathalyzer should shoot an air blank using the sample tube. The air blank should clear all lingering fumes or vapors.
Mouth Alcohol
Although breathalyzers are tailored to measure breath alcohol, from time to time, alcohol from your stomach or mouth could get into the sample chamber. For instance, if you vomit or burp before taking your chemical test, the testing gadget could show more alcohol levels than what is in your breath. Burping causes gasses in your stomach to rise to your mouth. Depending on when you drank your last alcoholic beverage, the gases could have alcohol, and the breathalyzer might measure this alcohol. The alcohol in your stomach or mouth is not in your bloodstream and hasn't contributed to your intoxication. Therefore, including it in your BAC results in high breath test results.
The arresting police should observe you for at least fifteen minutes before administering the chemical test. Throughout the observation period, the police should ensure that you do not vomit, burp, or put something in your mouth. Since alcohol evaporates fast, mouth alcohol ought to be gone within the fifteen minutes.
Some breathalyzers have a slope detector that distinguishes between breath and mouth alcohol. A breathalyzer measures breath alcohol uninterruptedly during the breath test. If you have mouth alcohol, your reading will typically rise for a while and then drop, forming a steep down-slope. Following the slope, your reading will plateau. The plateau measurement is your breath alcohol.
Margin of Error
A breathalyzer has an inherent margin of error. That means even under perfect circumstances; your chemical test results might be inaccurate. If a breathalyzer whose margin error is 0.02% tests your breath, and the device measures the breath alcohol at 0.10 percent, the correct amount could be between 0.08 percent to 0.12 percent.
Temperature Could Affect the Breathalyzer Test Accuracy
A breathalyzer could be sensitive to temperature and might give false readings if not adjusted for air temperatures. Your temperature also plays a significant role. Every one degree of body temperature above the normal will significantly increase blood alcohol concentration.
Most devices assume a 2100:1 ratio when converting alcohol in the breath to alcohol in the blood estimates. However, the ratio varies from one thousand and nine hundred to two thousand and four hundred among most defendants. Additionally, it changes within an individual over time. The variation can cause false blood alcohol concentration readings.
Hyperventilation and physical activity can reduce your actual BAC level.
Hematocrit is Another Factor
Most devices have a cell volume of blood (hematocrit) of forty-seven percent. Nevertheless, hematocrit values range from thirty-seven to forty-three percent in women and forty-two to fifty-two percent in men. An individual with a low hematocrit will have an incorrect high blood alcohol concentration reading.
Failure to use a breathalyzer correctly is a source of error. Breath tests vary fifteen percent from the real BAC.
False Breath Test Results Originating from Acetone in Your Breath
Acetone is common in people's breath. If high, it could give false BAC readings, leading to the conviction of an innocent motorist.
Hypoglycemia is the leading cause of acetone, and diabetes patients could have high acetone levels enough to give a false reading of 0.06.
Since the breathalyzer determines your BAC by identifying ethyl alcohol and the device can't distinguish between ethyl alcohol and acetone, high acetone levels could result in false high reading on your breath test.
Additionally, hypoglycemia causes symptoms identical to those of intoxication, including:
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Challenges paying attention
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Confusion
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Shaking
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Clumsiness
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Dizziness
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Jerky movements
Fasting, dieting, or taking a low-carbohydrate diet could increase acetone levels.
Environmental Factors Could Affect Your Breath Test Results
If you are exposed to acetone (it is popular with painters), you might have acetone in your system. As previously mentioned, this might lead to false high breath test results.
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
A person suffering from gastroesophageal reflux disease is more likely to have inflated breath test readings. The health condition causes your stomach's content to flow back to the digestive system. It could include undigested alcohol in your stomach, which might affect breath test results when stomach contents contaminate your breath sample.
Officer Inexperience and Lack of Training
Police officers must be trained in using breathalyzers to ensure the chemical test is appropriately administered. For instance, the device should be calibrated before use. An incompetent cop might fail to calibrate, and the breath test administration might give inaccurate results.
Find a DUI Defense Attorney Near Me
Breathalyzers are not correct all the time. The court will accept the margin of error linked to the test but attempt to lower the margin by ensuring the device was well maintained, operated, and calibrated. Unluckily, if you're a subject of an inaccurate breath test, the prosecution team will treat you as if you failed the chemical test. To make sure you are not wrongly sentenced, The Law Offices of Ross Howell Sobel can analyze challenges with the evidence. With many years of experience successfully serving San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles residents, we will aggressively fight the charges against you. Contact us today at 818-582-2350 for assistance with drunk driving charges.
