5
Do’s and dont’s: Things That Can Affect the Reading of
Your Breathalyser
There are some factors that can affect the reading of breathalysers whether
it be the AlcoSense breathalyser or a police system. Please note that certain
medications and conditions including diabetes can give false positive readings.
If you find you have a positive reading when you have not drunk alcohol
please contact us for assistance.
Do:
• Use the breathalyser the morning after a few drinks.
• Read the instructions carefully.
• Phone us if you have any difficulties.
• Only drive when the AlcoSense says LO and you feel 100%. Any amount of
alcohol in your system will affect your ability to drive.
• Leave a minimum of 5 minutes between tests. Do not perform more than
5 tests in one hour and no more than 20 tests in 24 hours. More frequent
testing can cause a build-up of breath condensation or alcohol vapour in
the breathalyser which can temporarily affect accuracy.
Don’t:
• Blow into the breathalyser within 10 minutes of drinking, high levels of
alcohol in the mouth can permanently damage the sensor.
• Perform a breath test within 90 minutes of drinking. Blood alcohol levels
can rise for up to 90 minutes after drinking (see page 3 for more info).
Results taken before this time can rise or fall quickly.
• Use the breathalyser for at least 30 minutes after using mouthwash, breath
spray, cough medicine or anything else that may contain alcohol - you may
get a false positive reading.
• Use the breathalyser for at least 30 minutes after having a cigarette or
eating ripe fruit - you may get a false positive reading.
• Perform a test in dirty air, i.e. a smoky room or pub.
• Use the breathalyser if you are breathing quickly (for example, after running
up the stairs) or have been holding your breath. This can falsely lower or
raise the reading respectively. Wait until you are breathing normally again.
• Perform two tests sequentially, you may get a variation between readings.
This is because it can take a few minutes for the alcohol concentration
inside the lungs to stabilise again after the first test, or residual alcohol
vapour in the breathalyser may affect the accuracy of the second reading.
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