Are Home Blood Alcohol Concentration Breath Testers Reliable? - Sparrow Law Firm

North Carolina drivers may wonder if a department-store purchase, practically for pocket change, could help them avoid a potential DWI. The answer, unfortunately, is one we have heard before: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Indeed, the fine print on such products warns that the devices should not be used to determine precise blood alcohol concentration.

The BAC breath testers police officers use need to be checked and tested regularly. If they are not, their accuracy may be challenged in court. Personal breath testers, however, can provide a user with a “false sense of security,” according to one trooper — a misinterpretation that could end with the driver’s receiving a different, and higher, BAC reading from a police officer on the side of a busy road.

Source: WNCT 9, “Household breathalyzers, do they work effectively?,” Andrew Ruiz, July 15, 2013