| While drinking and driving is never a good idea, there | | | | breathalyzer test is to put forth the strategy of |
| are just way too many things that can go horribly | | | | retrograde extrapolation. Most breathalyzer tests take |
| wrong, people should also know enough information to | | | | place at police headquarters, sometimes more than an |
| protect themselves from a false reading during a | | | | hour after the traffic stop. What the theory of |
| breathalyzer test. The fact that there are a number of | | | | retrograde extrapolation attempts to prove is to |
| ways that a breathalyzer can be wrong during the | | | | backtrack from the time of the test to estimate what |
| testing process shows that the information these | | | | the true blood alcohol level was at the time of the |
| machines provide is not always reliable. This | | | | citation, which would often be less. |
| information can be used as a way innocent people | | | | Compound Interference |
| can protect themselves against false prosecution of | | | | There are a number of compounds in existence that |
| drunk driving. | | | | interfere with the results that a breathalyzer can come |
| Here are a five ways that a breathalyzer can be | | | | up with. It is known that those suffering from diabetes |
| wrong. | | | | can sometimes have acetone levels that are so high |
| Calibration | | | | that they can be read as being over the legal limit. |
| Without regular calibration, many breathalyzers lose the | | | | Acetone is one of the compounds that breathalyzers |
| ability to give accurate readings. The calibration | | | | falsely reads as alcohol. Other things that have |
| process is meant to train the breathalyzer's sensor so | | | | sometimes shown to cause false positive readings in |
| that it can detect accurately the amount of alcohol | | | | breathalyzer tests include inhalers and some dietary |
| that is sent through the machine. | | | | supplements. |
| Residual Mouth Alcohol | | | | Absorptive Phase Testing |
| It is important for those administering a breathalyzer | | | | It takes a given amount of time for alcohol to be |
| test to observe a test subject for twenty or more | | | | absorbed into a person's body, usually from half an |
| minutes so that everyone involved that the test results | | | | hour to two or more hours. This is called the |
| are not thrown off because of any residual alcohol left | | | | absorptive phase. Testing via breathalyzer during the |
| in the subject's mouth. The problem with testing a | | | | absorptive phase can give a false reading because |
| subject too soon is that the machinery assumes that | | | | while alcohol is in the process of being absorbed it is |
| any alcohol found in the breath of the subject comes | | | | not distributed evenly throughout the body. |
| from the lungs and therefore is a reading of how | | | | Breathalyzers are something that anyone making the |
| much alcohol is in the bloodstream. It is possible for a | | | | poor decision of getting behind the wheel after having |
| subject to have left over alcohol in their mouth that | | | | more than a couple drinks will most likely have to deal |
| would give a false reading on a breathalyzer when | | | | with at some point in their life. There are a number of |
| their blood alcohol rate is not really over the legal limit. | | | | things that can go wrong though with a breathalyzer |
| Retrograde Extrapolation | | | | test, causing it to record false levels of alcohol in the |
| One of the more common defense attorney | | | | test subject. |
| strategies put in use to show the fallibility of a | | | | |