"If I take the breath test and fail it, what is the point of fighting the DUI?"
Although many stand in a much better position if the state does not have a breath test to strengthen their case, all hope is not lost if you have taken the state's breath test. The sobriety test of choice for most police agencies (including Alabama, Mississippi and Florida) is the Intoxilyzer 5000. The 5000 relys on a breath sample provided by you and then performs an analysis of that sample based on the ratio between blood and breath. It displays the alleged content of alcohol in your blood as reflected in the amount of alcohol on your breath. There are many factors that can contribute to inaccurate readings. Some of these factors are listed below:
Calibration: For a reading to be given credibility, it is recommended the Intoxilyzer 5000 undergo a calibration check before each motorist submits to the test.
Residual Mouth Alcohol: The police are required to observe a motorist for a period of time prior to directing them to submit to the Intoxilyzer. If such periods are not observed, there is a risk that alcohol will be present in the mouth at the time of testing. Such would result in an inflated reading. Also, dental fixtures such as dentures or partials can trap alcohol in the mouth which could also result in an artificially high reading.
Belching or Burping: If a person has consumed a beverage which contains an amount of alcohol, belching or burping can cause a regurgitation or reflux from the stomach into the mouth. This fact could pollute the breathe sample with pure alcohol thus providing a deceptively inflated reading.
Diabetes or Fasting: A person who has diabetes can exhibit signs usually seen in an alcohol impaired person. Sometimes, police officers mistakenly believe they smell an alcoholic beverage, when in fact they are smelling acetone. Acetone can originate from diabetes and/or fasting, i.e., the deprivation of food. The Intoxilyzer can treat the presence of acetone in the same manner as the presence of ethyl alcohol and provide a false reading.
Automobile Air Bags: Most air bags installed in vehicles contain talc particles. These particles are often inhaled by a person involved in an automobile accident as a person's normal reaction to such a situation is to gasp. The Intoxilyzer's filters often cannot separate the talc particles from ethyl alcohol, and a false reading is reported.
Temperature: The Intoxilyzer is calibrated to assume the person being tested has an average normal breath temperature. If the person being tested has a higher breath temperature because of fever, the blood to breath ratio will decrease resulting in an artificially high reading.