How To Beat The Police Breathalyzer Test
February 28, 2007
By now you’ve probably heard (and hopefully not tried out) some of the urban legends of how to beat the police breathalyzer test. The assumption is that you can alter the results of a blood alcohol content test through a chemical reaction. With the widespread availability of personal digital breathalyzers, it is easier than ever to conduct tests of your own to determine a tried and true way of beating the breathalyzer. If you are interested in the scientific terms of how a breathalyzer works, check out our other breathalyzer articles.
Some of the methods that have been attempted in breathalyzer tests:
- Sucking on a penny or other coins
- Chewing gum
- Mouthwash
- Pepto-Bismol
- Vitamin C
- Garlic
- Taking Deep Breaths
Putting These Methods to an Actual Breathalyzer Test
Scientists and bored college co-eds have attempted just about every idea in the book when it comes to beating the breathalyzer. The most prolific of these methods is to suck on a penny while blowing into the breathalyzer. The assumption is that the copper in a penny will cause a chemical reaction on your breath and alter the results of the breathalyzer test. It is unlikely that the small amount of copper in a penny would cause a chemical reaction great enough to fool a breathalyzer. It is also even more unlikely that a chemical reaction would alter the results of a breathalyzer.
You may have seen the MythBusters television show where they attempt to fool a breathalyzer using some of these methods. If you have not check seen this episode, check out this video: Mythbusters Fool A Breathalyzer Test. Unfortunately, it turns out that none of these methods mentioned above, or in the program, conclusively fooled a breathalyzer. After all the research that has been done so far, I get the feeling that the only way to beat the breathalyzer is to not drink. I guess your only option is to purchase a personal breathalyzer and do some scientific research of your own. The best method for beating the breathalyzer may not be a scientific approach, but rather a legal one, where you hire a professional DWI lawyer to handle it in court.
