Anyone know what causes a breathalyzer to read inconclusive?

Question

My friends BF got pulled over and the breathalyzer read inconclusive. He was then taken to the local ER to have blood drawn for a BAL. He told my friend they are awaiting the results of the blood. I've heard that if your alcohol level is really high that can make the breath test inconclusive. He claims he wasn't drunk....I don't believe him!! :)

Answer 1

That is not true at all. There is no reading "inconclusive" there is a reading called "Insufficient Sample, value obtained is the highest read". This is when somebody is playing games with the breath test and trying to just barely blow into the instrument.
See the problem here is it is 2nd hand information coming from someone with incentive to twist the facts a bit, plus he was probably intoxicated so he isn't going to be real clear anyway.
The Intoxilyzer 5000 that I was a certified operator on for almost 2 decades prints an evidence card and the person is gtiven a copy of that. I guarantee it didn't read inconclusive... That is just not a possibility.
So, do some checknig, I am positive the evidence card didn't say that.

Answer 2

There is no inconclusive. What most likely occurred was that your friend was trying to beat the machine by not blowing into it as instructed, where in it can not read a sample. He probably insisted that he was trying to give the correct breath sample and the officer got tired of the bs and took him to the hospital for a blood draw. If they have to do a blood draw it can take several weeks to get the results back from the crime lab.

Answer 3

I don't know... I guess maybe a mouthwash such as Scope or Listerine if used directly before the breath test... These products contain a lot of alcohol so maybe it would be hard to tell if the level is higher because of your drinking or your mouthwash.

I just watch a MythBusters where the guy had a breathtest that registered at .13... then did mouthwash, which shot the test up to .43... But then the cops said if they get a reading like that (because .50 is lethal), they wait a mintue or two and re-test. When they did the retest, the test went back to .11 or something like that. So I guess mouthwash wears off too fast.

But here is something I got off the internet (though really, I probably shouldn't share such information). I am totally against drinking and driving and I myself will not drive if I have even had ONE drink. But in the name of science, here it is...

"Hyperventilation. Breathalyzer results will vary depending upon the breathing pattern of the person being tested. In one study, subjects drank moderate amounts of alcohol after which their BAC levels were measured by gas chromatographic analysis of their breath. Then they took breath analysis tests using various breathing patterns. When the subjects held their breath for 30 seconds before exhaling, their BAC readings increased by over 15%. When they hyperventilated for 20 seconds immediately before taking the tests, their BAC readings decreased by over ten percent."

Check out this website. The article is called "Can You Beat The Breathalyzer". It has all the myths and facts of the Breathalyzer test...

http://www.articlealley.com/article_46908_18.html

Best Wishes...
T.

Answer 4

never heard of a breathalyzer reading inconclusive. The data master breathalyzer we use will just come back with a technical refusal if it does not get a sufficient air sample other than that it will come back with whatever the level was analyzed.
The PBT test just shows a display with the level from triple 0 to "holy smokes there trashed"
Good Luck and Godspeed

Answer 5

Screwing with the breathalyzer is what gives it a non-reading or what your are referring to as "inconclusive" (I've never heard that term before). Anyway, usually the people with a really high BAC can't breathe in it good enough. The other alternative is they are just failing to blow into the machine. My favorite is when they pretend to blow through the machine. (The end is like a straw; air blows through it. If you don't blow, it's damn obvious).

Answer 6

This is news indeed, but i rather think it's not correct! I certainly wouldn't try it ('it' being drink driving).......................... As for sucking on a penny, I'm sure there's worse things to stick in your mouth but can you imagine the germs living on a penny! I'm thinking that the only way to avoid a positive test on a breathalyzer is not to have a drink before you get behind the wheel of a car ( and kill another driver / a child / a baby)................. Hmmm thanks for that opportunity to have a rant :-) Enjoy sucking on pennies :-)

Answer 7

Salbutamol and Ventolin which is a type of medicine known as a short-acting beta 2 agonist, it works by acting on receptors in the lungs.

Answer 8

I believe not drinking but if you are stopped now there are several other tests they put you on and with road accidents on the increase again from bloody mobile phones and what ever else drink drugs etc then they are being very picky and harsh i hear. hope this helps.

Answer 9

Mel Gibson

Answer 10

you