If you are pulled over for suspicion of DUI, you may think you have a foolproof way of beating the breathalyzer test. Like thousands of other people, you have probably read online that you can trick the breathalyzer test by rinsing your mouth out with mouthwash prior to taking the test. Our South Carolina DUI lawyers have had clients tell us they tried the same thing. Sadly, they ended up in the same place you probably ended up in – a jail cell.
Why anybody would think that drinking mouthwash – something that is loaded with alcohol – would lower their BAC escapes us. Even if you don’t swallow the mouthwash, there is still residue in your mouth. The only thing this can do is make your BAC levels higher. This means that, if you were teetering on the brink of the legal limit, this can put you over.
Here, we’ll dispel the myth about mouthwash helping you defeat a breathalyzer test. We’ll also dispel some of the other urban myths about how get over on the police when they ask you to take this test. If you’ve been arrested and charged with DUI, you should give us a call. One of our criminal defense attorneys in Clemson will gladly review your case and see how they can help.
There Are Many Urban Myths About How to Trick a Breathalyzer Test
There are all sorts of myths online about how to beat a breathalyzer test. None of them have any merit. You have to consider the source. You have no idea who came up with these ideas. Nor do you know if the person writing the article is qualified to make this kind of statement.
Unless the article you’re reading was written by a lawyer, doctor, or scientist, don’t put any stock in it. Anybody with a laptop or handheld device can go online and write an article about how to beat a breathalyzer test. That doesn’t mean you should fall for it. These urban myths are nothing but that – myths.
Some People Think the Chemicals in Mouthwash Can Combat the Alcohol Content in Your Body
One of the reasons people think they can use mouthwash to beat a breathalyzer test is because of the chemicals it contains. They somehow assume that the alcohol content in the mouthwash will counteract the alcohol in their bloodstream.
The truth is that all mouthwash can do is increase the amount of alcohol in your body. Even if you had a chance of coming in just under the legal limit of .08, your chance will be ruined if you gargle or drink mouthwash moments before the test.
Drinking Mouthwash Prior to a Breathalyzer Test Can Make Things Worse
As stated above, drinking or swishing with mouthwash before the breathalyzer test will do nothing but increase your BAC. Furthermore, how does one think they can manage to drink or gargle with mouthwash with the police looking in their front window is mind boggling.
If the police suspect that you’ve been drinking and driving, they’re not going to leave you alone long enough to take out your bottle of mouthwash and toss it down the hatch. And if you try to do this in the time it takes for the officer to close his car door and arrive at your window, you’re wrong. That won’t work either!
None of the Tricks and Tips Online Are Useful
Using mouthwash isn’t the only trick we have read about over the years. Some of our clients were under the impression that they could beat a breathalyzer test if they had a penny in their mouth at the precise moment they took the test. They said they read somewhere that the metals in the penny distracted the mechanism in the breathalyzer, providing a false reading.
This just goes to show you that you cannot believe everything you read online. You also have to consider that the police have read the same articles as you. If they thought there was any legitimacy to these tricks, they would have done something about it.
The Breathalyzer Test Has Been Perfected Over the Years
Law enforcement has been using breathalyzer tests for decades. It was invented in the 1950s by a police captain and inventor named Robert Borkenstein. Since then, the instrument has been modified and perfected. When you consider all the scientific research and testing that has been done to make this tool failproof, you’ll think twice about trying to trick it.
Borkenstein had followed up by work done in the 1920s by another inventor named Emil Bogen. He has used a football bladder and filled it with alcohol. He then tested it to see if he could accurately determine the amount of alcohol inside the football. His paper on the topic was published in 1927. His premise, along with the work of Borkenstein, was the impetus behind the breathalyzer test as we know it today.
For people to think they can deceive a machine that was invented close to a hundred years ago is strange. You never want to rely on urban myths or internet tricks to get out of a DUI.
Contact a Skilled South Carolina DUI Lawyer if Your BAC is Above the Legal Limit
If you were pulled over and arrested for drunk driving, you could be facing such serious consequences. If you have any chance of getting the charges against you reduced or dismissed, it’ll be if you have a South Carolina DUI lawyer by your side. It can be very difficult to get the attention of the prosecutor if you aren’t represented by an attorney. It’s nothing personal, it’s just a fact. By the time the prosecutor has consulted with the defense attorneys in court, there won’t be much time left for pro se defendants.
If you thought using mouthwash or some other trick would defy the breathalyzer test, by now you must know you were wrong. In fact, by using mouthwash, you may have increased the BAC reading on the test. Now, the best thing your criminal defense attorney in Clemson can do for you is to try to get the charges dropped or reduced to reckless driving.
We suggest you call our office as soon as possible after your arrest. This way, your attorney can get involved right away and do their best to negotiate a favorable plea with the prosecutor.