We beat the breathalyzer (but don’t get funny ideas)
Surprising even to us, is that we managed to confirm a way to beat the breathalyzer. In a blog post from last week, we ask for input concerning theories to beat the breathalyzer. We put this out there because last Thursday we had a testing session (drinking event) in our office to refresh ourselves on issues with breath-testing equipment, and to try some of the theories we have heard of to beat the breathalyzer.
We used one of our BAC Datamaster breathalyzers (the ones the police have in the station in BC) our Intoxilyzer 5000 (used in Alberta and Ontario) and two Alco-Sensor IVs (the Approved Screening Device used in BC).
First we tested the devices to ensure they were calibrated using both wet-bath and dry-gas standards as appropriate. All of the equipment appeared to be functioning. Then we tested ourselves on a couple of devices to ensure we had no alcohol in our systems. Then we started to drink.
Assuming the breathalyzers were correct, and we base that assumption on having conducted multiple tests on a number of different breathalyzers, we concluded a few things about ourselves. For example, Paul eliminates alcohol from his body very quickly. Sarah can drink quite a bit before any device can detect alcohol from her breath. Kyla shows almost no symptoms of having consumed alcohol, i.e. no physical dexterity problems, good coordination, clear speech, reasoning, etc.
Perhaps the most interesting thing is that part way through the evening one of our Alco-Sensor IVs completely lost its calibration. Only 90 minutes from the time it had last been checked and found to be properly calibrated, it suddenly began to report readings that were .018 lower than the dry gas standard. We only noticed because the readings for one of us didn’t correspond with the Intoxilyzer or Datamaster readings. When we tested the ASD, we found it was then giving the wrong readings each time.
How do you feel about this type of device being used to justify IRP punishment? You don’t need to answer the question. It’s obvious to everyone except the police and the BCLiberals.
As far as the myths are concerned, first we tried a penny in the mouth. Noteworthy is that you can’t speak properly with a penny in your mouth. The sound of a person speaking with a penny in their mouth is similar to the slurred speech of a person who is really drunk. So it increases the likelihood that you will be suspected as impaired by alcohol.
Testing on various devices revealed… no change. The penny myth is a myth. We used old copper pennies and newer ones. It had no effect whatsoever on the breath testing results. If you put a penny in your mouth to try and beat the breathalyzer, i.e. to beat a DUI, you actually increase the chance that you will end up facing the punishment. Don’t try it.
As for breath mints, we had a nice new container of high potency mints given to us in a promotional container from Morrey Mazda of North Vancouver. The mints were great. But even a handful consumed 2 minutes before blowing had no effect on the breathalyzer result.
As for peanut butter, we recreated the test shown in a Youtube video using an Alco-Sensor IV. After getting the participant to just over .05 mg%, one large spoonful of peanut butter was eaten. Testing after one minute and then five minutes showed that the peanut butter had no effect whatsoever. The Youtube video is busted.
How we beat the breathalyzer:
We found one method to beat the breathalyzer when blowing into an Alco-Sensor IV ASD. We doubt, however, that it would work on either the BAC Datamaster or the Intoxilyzer 5000. But with the Alco-Sensor IV we were able to get the ASD breathalyzer to give a lower reading by hyperventilating immediately before providing a sample.
The theory is that deep lung air gives the best approximation of blood-alcohol content. If you repeatedly and quickly flood your lungs with fresh air, then there will be less opportunity for the alcohol from your blood to transfer to the air in your lungs. The Alco-Sensor ASDs can be fooled into thinking you are at the end of exhalation, i.e. the point of actually providing deep lung air, if you start by blowing forcefully and then taper off while you still have air in your lungs.
Our successful method to beat the breathalyzer was to wait until the mouthpiece had been inserted into the Alco-Sensor IV ASD, then breath deeply and heavily so as to completely exchange the air in the lungs with fresh air, then to take one final breath just as the device was ready to take a sample, and then blow. We blew hard at first, and then tapered off early to trigger the ASD to take a sample.
Using this method we were able to reduce the reading on the Alco-Sensor IV ASD by an average of about .014 mg%. That may be enough to lower a person from a Fail to a Warn or a Warn to a Pass on the roadside breathalyzers.
So there you have it. You can beat the breathalyzer to some degree by hyperventilating before you blow. We see no downside to using this method at the roadside because there is no way it would increase your reading.
And important:
The point here is not to assist anyone to game the system. It’s not a game. The issue is that a valid ASD sample is one captured by the ASD. Whether the sample is accurate cannot be determined with the legal scheme we have. So don’t get any funny ideas about taking risks on the assumption that you can beat the breathalyzer. Still, there is nothing wrong with breathing deeply, even hyper ventilating to ensure the reading isn’t artificially elevated.
Postscript:
One thing that concerned us is the possibility that very short shallow breathing may provide an inaccurately elevated reading. When people are dealing with the police, they are invariably nervous. Most people, when they’re nervous, stop taking in deep breaths. It’s the curse of speaking before a crowd. Many people are afraid of public speaking because their voice begins to waiver. This is owing to shortness of breath.
The people who manufacture and test these devices are probably not nervous when they blow into them. But what about the people at the roadside? Will short breaths give a reading that does not concur with the actual blood-alcohol content? Could it not provide an artificially elevated reading, particularly on a roadside ASD? Could this be one of the reasons so many people who are tested later using a BAC Datamaster provide readings so much lower than the ASD reported?
We don’t know that answers to this, and the Government doesn’t care. (UPDATE: we found the answer. Read about it here.) Their goal is to uphold as many IRPs as possible. After all, they didn’t write the legislation and create this massive government apparatus for nothing.
