After an officer pulls you over for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI), they may ask you to provide a breath sample for roadside testing. They will use a device called a breathalyzer to estimate blood alcohol content (BAC) from a breath sample. You may face criminal charges if the breathalyzer records results of over 0.08%.
What if you did not drink enough alcohol, or there are other factors that affect the test results? Should you question your breath test results?
Two factors that can affect breathalyzer results
If you are able to show that your breath test results are inaccurate or unreliable, you may be able to avoid the consequences of an impaired driving conviction.
Here are a couple of factors that may affect your breath test results:
- Your diet
Testing devices may be unable to distinguish between alcoholic drinks and certain foods. Ripe foods, protein bars and even dairy products may compromise the test results. Similarly, specific diets can affect results, such as the popular keto diet. When your body is in a state of ketosis, it produces ketones or other chemicals that the testing device may identify as alcohol.
- Specific medical conditions
There are medical conditions that may affect the breathalyzer results. These include indigestion, acid reflux and GERD. They all cause acid to build up in your stomach. The testing device might confuse these acids with ethyl alcohol. Certain medications can also affect breathalyzer results.
In certain situations, it is possible to challenge the results of a breathalyzer test. This is one legal strategy to consider when building a defense to allegations of drunk driving.