What are some of the problems with breath testing?
The problem with an evidentiary breath test is that it assumes a person is of “average” physiology and metabolism. We know that there is no such thing as the average person, but this is the standard that is used when you take a breath test. As such, most breath testing instruments that register many chemical compounds found on the human breath assume a 2100-to-1 ratio in converting alcohol in the breath into alcohol in the blood. However, in actuality, this ratio varies widely from person to person (and within a person from one moment to another). The breath testing instruments actually measures the methyl group in the alcohol compound, and not specifically alcohol. Of this methyl group there are hundreds, if not thousands of compounds that also contain this group, of which hundreds have been well documented on human breath. Other problems include burping within 15 minutes of testing, which can put the alcohol from the stomach into the mouth producing a false high reading. Radio freque
