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Breath testing is a very inaccurate method for measuring blood alcohol concentration (BAC).
In fact, even if the breath testing device or instrument is working perfectly, physiological variables prevent any reasonable accuracy. Simply put, breath testing for alcohol using a single test method should not be used for scientific, medical or legal purposes where accuracy is important [Hlastala, Physiological Errors Associated with Alcohol Breath Testing, 9(6) The Champion 19].
In addition, whether knowingly or unknowingly, police officers frequently influence the results of breathalyzer tests, resulting in inaccurately high BAC readings.
One of the most important factors in determining how high the breathalyzer registers someone's blood alcohol level --- about as important as the amount of alcohol consumed --- is the person's BREATHING PATTERN. There have been several studies performed about this issue.
One study showed that holding your breath for 30 seconds before blowing into the breathalyzer increases the BAC result by at least 15.7 %. Hyperventilating for 20 seconds, on the other hand, decreases the result 10.6%. Another study showed that running up two flights of stairs lowered the person's BAC by double the percent : 22 to 25 percent [ And see, "How Breathing Techniques Can Influence the Results of Breath-Alcohol Analyses," 22(4) Medical Science and the Law 275].
Another way in which breathing patterns can affect results of a breathalyzer test has to do with what part of the breath the device or instrument is exposed to. Different parts of the breath exhalation will give different blood alcohol readings. Probably 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 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%.
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