Does Vomiting Before A Breath Test Affect The Result?

Are there any other physical things that would affect the breath test, like dry mouth, or a person salivates like crazy, or any other systematical problems?

Someone having dry or cotton mouth will not affect the breath test reading. Yet, if a driver regurgitated or vomited prior to the breath testing, that could have potentially affected the results. If the driver vomited the contents of his stomach, any raw alcohol or alcohol absorbed in the food particles would be in the person’s mouth at the time of testing, if that driver didn’t have an opportunity to rinse his or her mouth out. I’ve had cases where a driver admitted to a police officer that he vomited prior to the investigation, or the officer saw the driver vomit at the scene of the investigation, or the officer saw the driver vomit back at the police station.

Vomiting doesn’t necessarily mean that the person is intoxicated. The person may just be sick from a virus. The person may have had food poisoning. Either way, the proper procedure that a breath test operator needs to follow is to make sure that the driver’s mouth is clear of potential contamination before breathing into the breath test device. If that’s not done, then the breath test reading may be artificially inflated and inadmissible as evidence.

Vomiting before giving a breath sample affects the Blood Alcohol Content outcome registered on the breathalyzer test. Other factors may also affect the BAC level registered on the breathalyzer machine. If you have been stopped on suspicion of driving under the influence of drug or alcohol in Camden County, New Jersey, You need to contact the office of Leckerman Law, LLC in Cherry Hill, NJ. DWI defense attorney Kevin Leckerman has been representing clients in both DWI and DUI cases in New Jersey. For information on DWI Breath tests, and to talk to a DUI defense attorney in New Jersey, call (856) 429-2323 right away.