Can You Fool a Breathalyzer?
One of the most popular questions that people ask about drinking and driving is: is it possible to fool a breathalyzer? The short answer is, no. However, that hasn't stopped people from coming up with all sorts of ideas to try and beat the system during a DUI stop.
Attempt 1: Eating
Eating can help you sober up over the long run, but it won't help you beat a breath test. People have tried eating strong foods like onions, coffee grounds, breath mints, but all to no avail. Strong substances such as these will often mask the odor of alcohol on your breath, but that doesn't make the alcohol content disappear. When you blow into a breathalyzer, the device will still be able to read the alcohol in your breath.
Attempt 2: Caffeine
Some people have tried drinking coffee or soda to sober up so they can drive home after consuming alcohol. But even though a jolt of caffeine and sugar can help you become more alert, none of these beverages changes your blood alcohol content.
Attempt 3: Mouthwash
Mouthwash may be able to slightly mask the smell of alcohol on your breath, but like any other strong substance, it won't lower the breathalyzer readings. In fact, because mouthwash contains a small amount of alcohol, it could potentially increase the amount of alcohol registered on the breathalyzer. If you haven't been drinking at all and use mouthwash, depending on when you used it and how much you used, it could register a "false positive" on a breathalyzer.
Attempt 4: Other
Because of the harsh DUI penalties that are being enacted in almost every state in the country, many people panic when they're pulled over and might be drunk. They'll try almost anything they can think of to sober up or fool a police officer. Here are a few of the most extreme:
- Putting a penny in your mouth: it's an urban legend whose source is unknown, but according to Snopes.com, one visibly intoxicated man actually was foolish enough to try the "penny under the tongue" trick. Considering that he was slurring his speech and could hardly remain standing due to his intoxication, it's no wonder that he failed the breathalyzer test. Even if he had passed, all that other visual evidence would have been enough to arrest him under suspicion of DUI. Remember: 0.08 percent BAC is just a per se limit; you can be arrested if you appear drunk and your BAC is lower.
- Drinking Zima: because Zima doesn't smell as strongly of alcohol as other types of beer or liquor, there was a rumor floating around that drinking Zima as your alcoholic beverage of choice would render your BAC undetectable by a breathalyzer. This myth, like that of eating breath mints or another strong substance, is based on the false assumption that there is no alcohol on your breath if there is no smell of alcohol on your breath. This is demonstrably false.
- Eating your unmentionables: an 18-year-old man from Stettler, Alberta, Canada tried to eat his underwear, thinking that the cotton cloth would absorb the alcohol in his system. In March 2005, a 59-year-old man tried to fool a breathalyzer by stuffing his mouth full of feces. In each case, the breathalyzer was not fooled.
Can You Fool a Car Breathalyzer?
Breathalyzers built into your car, called ignition interlock devices, are virtually tamperproof. You absolutely can't start your car without blowing into the breathalyzer, and if you try having someone else blow into the breathalyzer before you leave the bar, you'll get caught when the car stops for random rolling tests.
The lesson is: when it comes to DUIs, there are no shortcuts or workarounds. It's better not to drink and drive!
What Should You Do if You are Arrested for DUI?
Breath tests with breathalyzers are not infallible; in fact, there are many ways that you can challenge them, from proving you do not fit within the profile of "average person" that these devices assume in their calculations, to finding fault with the procedure used by the arrested officer. A DUI attorney can help you learn more about DUI defense, and help you get started on your own DUI case.
To contact a DUI attorney near you, please fill out our free DUI case evaluation form or call 1 (877) 349-1311 today!