A police officer will obtain an amount of the person’s exhaled air and use specialized equipment to investigate the gases’ chemical composition as a part of a chemical breath test. Many individuals believe breathalyzers to be highly accurate, if not entirely flawless, kinds of testing science.
However, according to common belief, the outcomes of breathalyzer tests are not entirely trustworthy. In reality, breathalyzer tests frequently provide false positives. Due to a bad breath test result, individuals with no alcohol in their body or who were not beyond the legal limit may be penalized for drunk driving. You should contact a DUI attorney if you are charged with a false breathing test.
Can you still defend your charges if you fail the breathalyzer test?
There are numerous explanations why the breathing test result might conflict with a person’s truthful explanation of what occurred. The initial scenario would involve a test failure due to a medical issue. The second would involve faulty test administration or equipment maintenance. Given the many possible causes of a false positive, there are questions about using breathalyzer tests in general.
There are many more reasons why chemical breath test outcomes could suggest someone is above the legal limit, even though they have had little to no liquor. A person could fail a breath test if they felt sick in their stomach, used mouth rinse, or were on particular drugs. So may someone with certain common illnesses such as uncontrolled diabetes. That could be the basis for the defense strategy for anyone with a medical reason for their test results.
Some people have a way of challenging the accuracy of a particular test unit. Others effectively defend themselves by providing a medical reason for their test results. If the accused person maintains their sobriety and a breath test is the only evidence the state has, numerous defenses might work. It might even be argued that the initial traffic stop was unlawful, in which case any proof the police obtained after questioning the subject might also be suspicious.
Blood and breath tests have several faults, including the following:
- Breathalyzer tests, particularly those administered with the Intoxilyzer 5000, include significant errors.
- The equipment might not have been regularly serviced or calibrated.
- It is probable that the police officer who performed the test was not adequately trained.
- It is possible that the instructions provided for doing a breath test were not followed correctly.
- Health issues such as asthma, GERD, and reflux disease could influence the test of the individual’s results on the breathalyzer.
