Can You Beat the Breathalyzer?
Posted: Sunday, April 23, 2006
by alcoholalert
http://www.alcoholalert.com
If you are ever suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol and pulled over by the police, you may be given a Breathalyzer test, which will be used to determine the level of alcohol concentration in your bloodstream. This device used by law enforcement, is portable, reasonably accurate, and gives almost immediate results.
Given the dire consequences drivers face if they fail such a test, there's a question that often arises among individuals who are concerned about the possibility of being caught drinking and driving is there any way to fool the Breathalyzer into showing a lower reading?
Myth: Sucking on pennies. Most people know that sucking on a penny, or any other type of change, does not trick the Breathalyzer into registering a falsely low blood alcohol concentration (BAC). Even sillier is that people who believe it think the penny trick works because of the penny's high copper concentration. Pennies have been made of 97.5% zinc since the 1980s.
Myth: Breath Mints. The misguided notion that the smell of alcohol equals alcohol itself fuels the nonsensical belief that breath fresheners can fool a breath analysis test. All gums, mints and sprays do is mask the odor of alcohol on the breath, they do not change the alcohol content of the breath nor do they effect the chemical reactions used to determine the amount of alcohol present. All breath fresheners can do, particularly mouthwashes, is possibly increase the amount of mouth alcohol registered. Even though breath analysis tests have ways of distinguishing mouth alcohol from lung alcohol, the last thing a person would want to do is increase the BAC reading.
Myth: Belching. Many police officers believe that Breathalyzer results can be compromised if the subject belches while being tested, due to the increase in mouth alcohol caused by the belch. This belief is more fiction than fact. According to a 1992 University of Wisconsin study, belching had no effect on breath analysis test results even when subjects belched directly into the instrument.
Myth: Underwear and Feces. Yuck! It almost goes without saying that neither the consumption of underwear nor feces can trick a Breathalyzer into registering a lower BAC, but it is interesting to note that people have tried both. A 28-year-old Canadian man who was stopped on suspicion of drunk driving ate the crotch out of his underwear, believing that it would soak up the excess alcohol in his system. Another Canadian driver tried to foil a Breathalyzer test by eating his own feces. Either it didn't work or it had the opposite effect and increased the BAC readings. The machine registered a BAC that was more than twice the legal limit.
Myth: Zima. The alcohol in the sweet, pale, malt liquor beverage was thought to be undetectable by breath analysis machines. Zima leaves little alcohol smell on the breath, even though it contains as much alcohol as any normal beer, so people (usually the teens who drink the stuff) believed that the alcohol couldn't be detected by a Breathalyzer. Like breath fresheners, the alcohol remains even though the odor is not there.
That's a lot of myths. How about a factual way to decrease a BAC reading?
Fact: Hyperventilation. Breathalyzer results will vary depending upon the breathing pattern of the person being tested. In one study, subjects drank moderate amounts of alcohol after which their BAC levels were measured by gas chromatographic analysis of their breath. Then they took breath analysis tests using various breathing patterns. When the subjects held their breath for 30 seconds before exhaling, their BAC readings increased by over 15%. When they hyperventilated for 20 seconds immediately before taking the tests, their BAC readings decreased by over ten percent.
On the other hand, hyperventilating could make you dizzy and affect your performance on other common roadside sobriety tests, such as walking in a straight line or balancing on one foot.
These are just a small handful of the "beat the Breathalyzer" tales. What's the moral to most of these fables? If you think you can fool the Breathalyzer, you're probably just fooling yourself. If you really want to beat the breathalyzer, just don't drink and drive, and you'll have nothing to worry about.
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More commentsi heard if you eat a packet of mustard. my friend just came home and said he did that and believe me he was wasted!!!! his skin even smelled of alcohol...but he beat it twice by eating the mustard and the cop had to let him go. has anyone ever heard of that?
Yes there's 2 ways smoke 4 cigs at the same time fast or when the police put the blue light continue driving slowly but don't pull over keep some 2 pence coins in your ashtray about 6 and stick them in your mouth and suck the hell out of them untill your mouth is bone dry I did this after 8 lagers if they ask you how many drinks say 1 only its a trick question if you say 3 they can take you to a police station for a blood test and then your xxxxxx.
Another thing as well don't drive to the pub in the first place this is the main reason people drink and drive as alcohol makes you more of a risk taker that's why las vagus is full of free drinks.
what is a for sure thing that really works on these devices help please
"Mythbusters" tried to beat the breathalyzer test and could not find anything that worked. Sorry, guys. How about this; Don't drink and drive? You all are putting yourself and others at great risk by getting behind the wheel wasted. You could kill someone! It is a stupid, selfish act.just take a taxi to the bar and back home, I find it harder to have a D-Driver since all the person wants to do is leave, so be responsible and pay a taxi cab to get you home safely.
Obviously Mythbusters would never tell/show what/how to beats breath test, because millions watch that show and 80% will drink and drive at some stage in they live, obviously how to beat breath test will never go public and specially on such popular tv show.
I had about 15 drinks in four or five hours finished my last beer as I was getting pulled over I put two pennies in my mouth, fail the field test, got arrested went down to the police station. The whole time I had pennies in my mouth when it was time to blow I blew under the legal limit. Coincidence? I will never know for sure but i know my body well and I was drunk...Myth busters would never ever tell you how to beat a breath test anyways.
I don't really drink and drive but when I was younger I did get pulled over and was breath tested was pretty drunk but don't ask me how I blew 0.0 on both occasions. Still can't work out how i got that result. Cause I had been drinking for a few hours and was intoxicated. ???
ok ok, first dwi I got (MO, USA) they made me sit through a 2 day 10 hour course as 'part' of my probation...basically it was 2-5 hour classes about how to not get a DWI if you paid enough attention...so what did I learn?? rule #1 - if you aren't directly pulled over, say you have a wreck or drive off into a ditch -- get out of the drivers seat! if you weren't driving your not liable - sure you might get a ticket for interfering if you can't say who was actually driving or something, better that then a DWI! if you are directly pulled over and cannot play off the driving role refer to rule #2 --- don't take a breathalizer if you think you might fail, especailly the one in the police station (the calibrated machine) even if you took the one at the cops car!! to be proven guilty of any crime evidence must be provided- and sure the drivers guide in you local state surely says that if you should choose to take the privledge to drive you accept the 'on request' BAC test (blood, breath, hair whatever they should want) and sure the punishment for failing to voluntarily give these tests holds generally the same pain in the ass as being convicted of a DWI - but a DWI (USA 2012) stays on your FEDERAL record for 7 YEARS! and if you think the first one was bad go ahead and get another before that time is up
without a GOOD lawyer and about 10K its gonna become a FELONY....no joke now TRUST ME look it up!! RULE #2 AGAIN - DON'T TAKE A BAC TEST IF YOU KNOW YOUR GOING TO FAIL-LET YOUR LAWYER EXPLAIN LATER WHY YOU DIDN'T TAKE IT 24 HOURS LATER WHEN THEY RELEASE YOU FROM COUNTY JAIL!! Rule #3 - there is no magic trick to pass a breathalizer test, its not worth your liscense to suck on pennies or hyperventalite...just don't take it and don't stand in front of the policemans vehicle stumbling around on camera if you know your $%&*@$%&faced!! sure your lawyer will appeal it for a couple grand now your in front of another couple grand court facing a jury of your peers and guess what they're gonna show - yes your dumbass stumbling around!! rule #4 actually rule #F'n 1 --- DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE!!
Try eating three bananas after drinking. Or a clove of raw garlic. It works. Trust me.
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