After a tiring day at the office you stop off at the local watering hole for just one cold beer. You don't want to be late for dinner so you finish your beer, throw some cash on the bar and leave.
Two minutes later on your way home you make a right turn at busy intersection but… you forget to use your turn signal. The next thing you know there's a patrol car with flashing lights on top right behind you. With a sinking feeling in your gut you slowly pull off to the side of the road.
As officer Miranda leans over to ask for your driver's license and registration, that wonderful hoppy smell of beer that you love so much hits his olfactory nerve and the next thing you know you are blowing into a breathalyzer.
After just one beer you're sure you'll be well under the legal limit but you are horrified to see the results of the breathalyzer reading: .095. That's .015 over the legal limit which is .08 BAC (blood alcohol concentration) in all 50 states.
Guess what.
Your life is about to change. For the worse. Big time.
Here's what happened and how you can avoid a false positive breathalyzer reading.
It takes about 15 to 20 minutes for the alcohol in your mouth to be completely absorbed and enter into your blood stream. A breathalyzer is calibrated to read a deep lung breath sample. If you blow into it shortly after taking a drink, the breathalyzer will get a direct blast of alcohol from your mouth before it has been completely absorbed and the BAC reading will be inaccurately high.
Since the alcohol residue remains in your mouth for several minutes after you've had your last sip it is crucial that you wait at least 15 and preferably 20 minutes before testing with a breathalyzer.
If you own a personal breathalyzer you will note that the instructions indicate that you wait 20 minutes before using your breathalyzer. That is the reason why.
Now back to officer Miranda and our one-beer-and-over-the-limit situation. The fact is that most police officers will wait and observe a person for 20 minutes before administering a breathalyzer test. But you should be aware that if they don't wait, your breathalyzer BAC reading could be inaccurately high resulting in an arrest. You have the right to request that a breathalyzer test be given only after a 20 minute wait.
A personal breathalyzer can be a great tool to educate you and your friends about the effects of alcohol. They can help you or someone you care about “know their limits”. For information, images and sale prices on FDA/DOT approved, professional quality breathalyzers go to www.BreathalyzersUSA.com
