New Breathalyz​er Device May Help Prevent False Positives

Posted by Phoenix DUI Attorney Nick Alcock:

A new product designed to beat the breathalyzer test is under scrutiny as it is being advertised on big billboards in front of bars. An Atlanta-based company is promoting “Breathalyzer Equalizer” as a product that promises to get rid of residual alcohol in the mouth which can often lead to false positives on the breathalyzer test commonly ordered during a DUI investigation.

From a scientific standpoint, nothing has yet to be invented that can get rid of the alcohol in one’s system but time. If you’re drunk, you can’t beat the breathalyzer test. This product will, however, getrid of the residual alcohol in the mouth, which often causes this test to register higher because of this left over mouth alcohol. The company co-founder is a former State Trooper and reports that this product will not mask anyone that is truly intoxicated. “You can blow over the legal limit on a roadside police breathalyzer just by having a little Scope, Listerine, breath spray-type things in your mouth when you get stopped. All this product does is improve the accuracy of roadside breath testingfor responsible, sober, drinking drivers and prevent those types of people from being falsely accused of DUI,” he asserts.

Residents of the Atlanta neighborhood where a billboard advertising this product veers down on them believe that this billboard will do nothing but encourage people to drink and drive. This billboard will have people believing that they can get away with drinking and getting behind the wheel of a car with this protective product on board. While the billboard advertises this is for “Sober DriversOnly” and asks to “Please Drink Responsibly,” opponents feel this isn’t enough. Some argue that the product actually protects drunk drivers from arrest.

BarryMartin of Mothers Against Drunk Driving said that BreathalyzerEqualizer is “unnecessary and can lead to dangerous circumstances” because drunk drivers may get a false sense of security from theproduct. According to Martin, drinking water and eating bread will reduce the amount of mouth alcohol as well as the new product.

Accordingto the creators, Breathalyzer Equalizer immediately reduces the amount of alcohol in the mouth by evaporating it. The product itselfis made up of carbon-based minerals that the user pours into his orher mouth. The creators recommend police officers wait 20 minutes forthe mouth alcohol to evaporate before conducting a breathalyzer test.

The breathalyzer is by far the most popular blood alcohol test, but its accuracy has long been contested. Some experts have argued that breath tests often pick up alcohol residue in the mouth, rendering a false positive.

A spokesman for Breathalyzer Equalizer, Paul Broft, insists the productis not intended to promote drunk driving, but rather to protect people from life-ruining false positive breathalyzer tests.

“What we are doing is protecting lives and careers,” says Broft. “There’s absolutely nothing out there that will sober you up other than time.”