In DUI cases, breathalyzers are often used to gauge whether someone is driving while impaired or not. While breath tests are typically pretty accurate, there are certain factors that could impact the accuracy of the test results. Factors affecting breath tests in Palm Beach Gardens DUI cases include things like braces or other dental-ware that might hold traces of alcohol, or medical conditions like diabetes which can sometimes result in false positives. If you have been charged with a DUI offense as the result of potentially inaccurate breath test results, it is important to speak with a skilled DUI lawyer that could contest the results and use the inaccuracies to bolster your defense. Work with a capable attorney that could pursue a positive outcome for you.
Impact of Alcohol-Based Products on Breath Test Results
One of the factors affecting breath tests in Palm Beach Gardens DUI cases, is alcohol-based products that a person may have used. Cough syrup and mouthwash, by definition, typically have alcohol in them. If a person uses cough syrup or mouthwash, it will be the same as if they drank alcohol because the odor of alcohol will be on the person’s breath and perhaps even leave residue in their mouth. Having alcohol on a person’s breath from cough syrup or mouthwash would seem to be the same from a law enforcement officer’s point of view but it certainly would not make a person impaired.
If a person is taking a breath test and they still have cough syrup or mouthwash in their mouth or on their breath, it could affect the breath test results because the person might have what is called mouth alcohol which is alcohol in the person’s mouth from the mouthwash or the cough syrup, and it would skew the results much higher than if the person did not have alcohol on their mouth.
How Could This Be Used to Build a Defense
A DUI attorney could argue that the test is not accurately portraying the amount of alcoholic beverages that the individual consumed. Rather, it is reflecting the mouthwash or the cough syrup that they took right before they were pulled over, as long as the cough syrup does not impair the person. People do drink cough syrup with codeine in it and it can impair the person and the same with Nyquil. They can use that as a defense that if the facts are there, they can use that as a factual defense that there is not alcoholic beverages but there is alcohol in a consumer-based product that is causing the odor of alcohol to be emanating from the person’s mouth.
Medical Conditions That Could Impact Breath Test Results
Another one of the factors affecting breath tests in Palm Beach Gardens DUI cases is medical conditions. It is important to point out, however, a medical condition alone will not result in an inflated BAC. If someone has consumed alcohol and they have GERD or acid reflux and they are experiencing that at the time of the test, it would affect the results of the test because they have been drinking alcohol, not because they have not been drinking alcohol. If a person has been drinking alcohol and they are suffering from GERD, or heartburn, or acid reflux and it is coming up on a person at the time that the person is testing, it will negatively impact the breath alcohol test because it will give an exaggerated reading and it will give a higher reading because the person is bringing up this alcohol from the digestive system into the throat, into the mouth and they are blowing it into the instrument.
Value of a Palm Beach Gardens DUI Attorney
Due to the impact that breath tests, it is important to stay aware of anything that could affect the accuracy of the test results. By staying aware of factors affecting breath tests in Palm Beach Gardens DUI cases, you and your attorney could keep them in mind while building your defense. That is why it is important to speak with a knowledgeable DUI lawyer. A capable attorney could devote the time and resources necessary to achieve a positive outcome for you.
