Here are a few of the most common DUI breathalizer questions we get:
What are the DUI Breathalyzer procedures in Maryland?
Can multiple blows effect my breathalyzer result?
Does burping during breathalyzer increase my BAC number?
Can I be arrested for blowing a low number?
Maryland's DUI breathalyzer procedures are documented in Maryland Transportation Article 16-205.1 and in COMAR 10.35.02.0(g). Together they say quite a bit about the requirements for a proper blow and therefore, if interested, you should consult these sections beginning with COMAR because it's easier to decipher and more to the point. Here are some of the requirements in short:
1. The DR-15 rights must be read to you in their entirety or you must be given the form to read yourself, completely, prior to being asked to blow in their magic happy box. If this does not happen, then your breath results should be excluded both in Court and at the Administrative hearing under 16-205.1
2. You must be watched for 20 minutes by LEO (law enforcement officer). You must be watched by either the arresting LEO, the breath operator or some other cop who has time on his hands (in between doughnuts) to make sure you do not put any foreign objects in your mouth or system. Foreign objects like food, alcohol, water, gum, chewing tobacco, etc can potentially have an impact on your BAC score. This is why many times they will not let you go to the bathroom before you blow; although the nice ones sometimes will.
3. They will then sit you down in front of the machine and basically tell you to take deep breath and blow in the machine until they tell you to stop (the machine will indicate when it has had enough of your breath). TIP: The cops tell you to take a great big breath because the deeper and longer you blow, the higher you go! You see when you breath deeply your getting the deep alivolar breath in your lungs number one, where the alcohol exchange takes place from your blood. Thus the more expelled air you get from there the higher your BAC number will be, versus simply inhaling air in your nose or mouth and quickly exhaling it. TIP 2: The deeper you inhale and hold your breath prior to exhaling, the more time the alcohol has to dissipate into the air that you will exhale. Deputy Dawg knows this and will encourage you to take a deep breath, hold and exhale thus maximizing your BAC score. Conversely, shorter breaths which remain in the mouth, breathing passage or lungs for a short period of time lack the same exchange time and thus result in lower or more fair and reflective BAC number.
4. You will be asked to provide two breath samples to the magic box. If the two breath samples are not within .02 of each other (absolute difference), then you will be asked for a third breath sample. Of the three samples, two must correlate within .02, if they do not, the samples will be rejected completely.
5. Before and after you blow, the machine will do a self test and in the self test, the blank test must report .00 BAC (ie. blank) and then must test itself with a known .08 solution (which the machine has attached to it) and the test must report within 10% of .08, ie. the machines margin for error. TIP: Whoops, bet you didn't now that! The magic breath machine has a 10% margin of error right from the manufacturer's own documentation and also in COMAR. Thus, if you happen to blow, say .08 which is enough to find you guilty of the per se charge, it could actually be a .072, under the per se charge. But, who's counting the details? After all, it's only your job, life and freedom on the line right?
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