Fact:
Alcohol is
actually odorless.... it has no smell. What people perceive as alcohol on the
breath is actually the odor of things commonly found in alcoholic beverages.
The breath of a person who drinks a non-alcoholic beer will smell the same as
that of a person who has consumed an alcoholic beer.
Research using experienced law enforcement officers has
found that odor strength estimates are unrelated to blood alcohol concentration
(BAC), which ranged in the experiment from zero to .13 (almost twice the legal
limit for driving). The estimates made by the officers were no more accurate
than random guesses. The researchers concluded that estimates of alcohol on the
breath are unreliable.
Fact: The
human body produces its own supply of alcohol naturally on a continuous basis,
24 hours a day, seven days a week. It’s called endogenous ethanol production.
Therefore, we always have alcohol in our bodies and in some cases people
produce enough to become legally intoxicated and arrested for DUI.
Fact: Hypoglycemia causes acetone in the breath, which the Breathalyzer will record as alcohol on the breath. Unfortunately, about one of seven drivers is diabetic and at risk of false arrest and conviction for DUI/DWI.
http://www2.potsdam.edu/alcohol/DrivingIssues/references/1107196613.html#4
Fact: A study
conducted by scientists at Clemson University involved showing police officers
videotapes of individuals taking six common field sobriety tests. The officers
were asked to decide whether suspects were too intoxicated to drive legally.
Unknown to the officers, none of the suspects had a BAC above .000. They had
zero alcohol in their blood. However, in the professional opinion of the officers,
46% of the completely sober individuals were too drunk to drive! Therefore, use
of field sobriety tests led to judgments by law enforcement officers that were
about as accurate as flipping a coin.
Smoke?
Here’s something to think about. Acetaldehyde is a compound in the breath that is falsely recorded as alcohol by breath analyzers.Important for tobacco smokers is the fact that acetaldehyde levels in their lungs are much, much higher than those in the lungs of non-smokers. 10 This means than smokers are far more likely to have falsely high readings on a Breathalyzer or other machine.
The danger of arrest and false conviction of DWI/DUI is yet another reason to quit smoking.
Even in the absence of any of these common problems and under ideal conditions, alcohol breath testers simply lack precision. Law professor and attorney Lawrence Taylor explains that “Scientists universally recognize an inherent error in breath analysis, generally of plus or minus .01%.” In addition “This has been acknowledged by courts across the country (see, for example, People v. Campos, 138 Cal. Rptr. 366 (California); Haynes v. Department of Public Safety, 865 P.2d 753 (Alaska); State v. Boehmer, 613 P.2d 916
(Hawaii), recognizing an even larger .0165% inherent error). 6
This means that under ideal conditions, which is a highly unlikely situation, a BAC reading of .08 reflects an actual BAC of anywhere from .07 to .09 or even .065 to .095. That’s a margin of error of 20 to 30 percent.
Would this be considered a reasonable margin of error for an accountant, airline pilot, or bank teller? Is this a reasonable margin of error in court, where guilt should be proved beyond a reasonable doubt?
Fact: Law enforcement officers can and do influence BAC readings. Law professor and lawyer Lawrence Taylor quotes Dr. Michael Hlastala, Professor of Physiology, Biophysics and Medicine at the University of Washington
"By far, the most overlooked error in breath testing for alcohol is the pattern of breathing.... The concentration of alcohol changes considerably during the breath...The first part of the breath, after discarding the dead space, has an alcohol concentration much lower than the equivalent BAC. Whereas, the last part of the breath has an alcohol concentration that is much higher than the equivalent BAC. The last part of the breath can be over 50% above the alcohol level....Thus, a breath tester reading of 0.14% taken from the last part of the breath may indicate that the blood level is only 0.09%." 8
Professor Taylor explains that
“Many police officers know this. They also know that if the machine contradicts their judgment that the person they arrested is intoxicated, they won’t look good. So when they tell the arrestee to blow into the machine’s mouthpiece, they’ll yell at him, "Keep breathing! Breathe harder! Harder!" As Professor Hlastala has found, this ensures that the breath captured by the machine will be from the bottom of the lungs, near the alveolar sacs, which will be richest in alcohol. With the higher alcohol concentration, the machine will give a higher -- but inaccurate - - reading.”
Substances in the environment can also lead to false BAC readings. For example, an alcohol-free subject was asked to apply a pint of contact cement to a piece of plywood and then to apply a gallon of oil-base paint to a wall. The total activity lasted about an hour. Twenty minutes later the subject was tested on an Intoxilyzer, which registered a BAC of .12 percent. This level is 50% higher than a BAC of .08, which constitutes legal intoxication in many states.
Ignition Interlocks
An ignition interlock is a device installed in a vehicle to prevent its use if a driver has been drinking alcohol. It includes a breath testing device into which the driver must blow before starting the engine.The blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) limit for starting the car is very low, under .025, which is less than 1/3 the legal limit of .08. Therefore drivers are advised by authorities not to eat or smoke before trying to start their vehicles. Otherwise, the device may prevent them from driving.
Repeat DUI offenders to get ignition interlock: blood-alcohol level must be below .025 to start car. TheWGALChannel.com, 10-1-03.
Similarly, a painter with a protective mask spray painted a room for 20 minutes. Although a blood test showed no alcohol, an Intoxilyzer falsely reported his BAC as .075.
Any number of other products found in the environment can cause erroneous BAC results. These include compounds found in lacquers, paint removers, celluloid, gasoline, and cleaning fluids.
Other common things that can cause false BAC levels are alcohol, blood or vomit in the subject's mouth, electrical interference from cell phones and police radios, tobacco smoke, dirt, and moisture.
Breath testers can be very sensitive to temperature and will give false readings if not adjusted or recalibrated to account for ambient or surrounding air temperatures. The temperature of the subject is also very important. Each one degree of body temperature above normal will cause a substantial elevation (about 8%) in apparent BAC.
Many breath testing machines assume a 2,100-to-1 ratio in converting alcohol in the breath to estimates of alcohol in the blood. However, this ratio varies from 1,900 to 2,400 among people and also within a person over time. This variation will lead to false BAC readings.
Physical activity and hyperventilation can lower apparent BAC levels. One study found that the BAC readings of subjects decreased 11 to 14% after running up one flight of stairs and 22-25% after doing so twice. Another study found a 15% decrease in BAC readings after vigorous exercise or hyperventilation.
Some breath analysis machines assume a hematocrit (cell volume of blood) of 47%. However, hematocrit values range from 42 to 52% in men and from 37 to 47% in women. A person with a lower hematocrit will have a falsely high BAC reading.
Failure of law enforcement officers to use the devices properly or of administrators to have the machines properly maintained and re-calibrated as required are additional sources of error.
Research indicates that breath tests vary at least 15% from actual blood alcohol concentration. At least 23% (that's about one out of every four) of all individuals tested will have a BAC reading higher than their actual BAC.
One writer has observed that
Breath testing, as currently used, is a very inaccurate method for measuring BAC. Even if the breath testing instrument is working perfectly, physiological variables prevent early reasonable accuracy....Breath testing for alcohol using a single test instrument, should not be used for scientific, medical or legal purposes where accuracy is important.
Were you sick at the time of your DUI arrest? The
temperature of the subject is also important. For each one degree of body
temperature above normal, a breath alcohol tester will cause an increase of
approximately 8% in the estimated BAC reading.
Here is a
video of a person making multiple breath sample attempts the argument was no
one could prove which breath samples were valid without the source code also
what samples was analyzed or which one was reported.
Other bracks cannot be reported that are taken from highest bracket.
The display of readings are supposed to be off in Florida so that the results cannot be manipulated.
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