While the breathalyzer results are not the only piece of evidence that prosecutors use in fighting their DUI cases, it often is among the most important facts that they have.  In MD, a person can be convicted of DUI when it is shown that the individual was driving and the breath test shows a BAC that is over the limit.  Unfortunately, the breathalyzer machines used by many police departments in MD have been shown to be unreliable in some instances.  Further, it doesn’t just take alcoholic beverages to produce strange results in these machines from time to time.  Following are some ways in which the breathalyzer machine could just plain get it wrong.

The machines are supposed to detect a very specific kind of molecule: ethyl alcohol.  The idea is that ethyl alcohol is present in the blood stream after the consumption of alcoholic beverages, and can be detected and measured to determine BAC.  Often, however, outside variables can change this reading even when the person has not been drinking at the level the test would suggest.  For example, other kinds of alcohol can be confused for ethyl alcohol by the test.  People who work in certain environments (think painters, etc), might also have fumes and other materials on their person that can confuse the machine.

Levels of mouth alcohol can also significantly change the BAC reading a breathalyzer gives.  Mouth alcohol levels can be affected by a number of different factors.  These include the kind of food recently eaten (bread, etc), various medical conditions, or even burping.  The breathalyzer cannot determine where the alcohol in the breath is coming from.  It is merely taking a reading, not knowing whether the alcohol is actually present in the lungs.  So someone who recently washed their mouth with Listerine may register a BAC higher than they otherwise might, even if a blood test would reveal something completely different.

Defending a DUI charge can be incredibly complex and the questions that can be asked in order to present the best possible case may not be immediately apparent to most lawyers.  For this reason, it is important that you get the best Baltimore DUI Lawyer on your side