Were you recently arrested and charged with DWI in Texas? Chances are when you were pulled over by law enforcement officials, they administered a breathalyzer test to determine your intoxication. While the test results can be used as evidence if the BAC is over the legal limit (0.08%), but there are a variety of factors which can impact the accuracy of the breath test.

The following are the most common factors that could result in an inaccurate BAC test reading:

• Inadequate calibration – A breathalyzer must be calibrated regularly and properly maintained in order to provide accurate readings. The police officer administering the test is required to be certified to use the device. Furthermore, these test needs to obtain at least two readings which are within .02 of each other. If these requirements are not fulfilled, a criminal defense attorney may help you argue that the breathalyzer results are inaccurate and not admissible in court.
• Health conditions – Certain health conditions increase the level of acetone in an individual’s breath and body, resulting in a false positive reading on the breath test. Diabetes and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) are known to elevate acetone levels and falsely inflate breathalyzer test results.
• Mouth alcohol – Breathalyzers do not have the capability to differentiate between alcohol in the mouth compared to alcohol in the lungs. There are certain items in the mouth that contain alcohol, such as mouthwash and dentures.
• Electronic interference – Radio frequency transmissions can meddle with breathalyzer results. Hand-help police transmitters, station dispatchers, police radar units, as well as AM and FM radios can emit electromagnetic interference which hinders the devices capability to provide accurate results.

If you are facing a DWI charge in Texas, contact our College Station DWI lawyer at Shane Phelps Law. today.