Breathalizers and keto, is it a worry at DUI checkpoints?

(Brian) #1

I know this is a bit of an old topic but it’s something I’ve wondered about lately.

I know breathalizer technology has probably improved somewhat but I have wondered whether it’s still a major thing, the idea of getting a false positive on a breathalizer test along the side of the road during a traffic stop.

I do not drink. And I don’t plan to start. So getting drunk, not gonna happen. But from what I’ve heard in the past, there is very real potential for a false positive, which is then probably cause, which in some states gets you an automatic 30 to 120 day license suspension and the task of trying to prove you’re innocent, and even lawyers will tell you, good luck with that one, not to mention if it’s high enough, a short stay in jail.

It’s hard for me to believe that if it is still a problem with current breathalizers that it hasn’t been all over YouTube but most of the videos I saw there were like 7 or 8 or 10 years old. There are a lot of keto / low-carb types out there that should be blowing out some ketones.

Does anyone have any current info on this? Or if it is really still a problem, are there some ways to quickly deal with it along the side of the road with an LEO wanting to make a DUI arrest even if you haven’t had a drop?

Curious if anyone knows.

Thanks!

(Consensus is Politics) #2

I’m pretty sure you can deny a breathalyzer and demand a blood test. Maybe not in every state?

(CharleyD) #3

Yeesh, that’s also offensive from a 4th Amendment perspective. Perhaps demand a field sobriety test?

#4

In Australia (NSW) the road side tests are just used as an approximate indicator, if you’re over they take you to the station and use “proper” (breath analysis) gear to test but you can request a blood analysis instead and they’ll take you to the hospital for that.

But it still begs the question, which I’d also like to know, does acetate (ketones) in the breath register?

Next time I get random breath tested I’ll ask.

(Jarod King) #5

It’s still a thing in the Military. My daughter is Keto and a Navy Sailor and was randomly tested by the Navy MPs (police), and she came up hot. After escalating all the way to the base commander, she found out that the MPs were using crappy Walmart, off the shelf breathalyzers, that couldn’t distinguish between Acetone from ketones and Ethanol from alcohol consumption. Needless to say, after 4 hours of heartache and taking her to the base hospital to test her again using the more accurate Infrared Spectrometry, she was released with an apology. Ahhh, the trials and tribulations of bleeding-edge medicine…