How a Breathalyzer Machine works

By Suffolk County DWI Lawyers

In Suffolk County, NY, a Breathalyzer machine estimates blood alcohol content (BAC) by measuring the amount of ethanol in your breath. These machines work in a few different ways:

Chemical reaction
The ethanol in your breath reacts with water and chemicals in the breathalyzer to produce an electrical current. The amount of current is proportional to the amount of ethanol in your breath.

Infrared beam
The breath sample passes through an infrared beam, and a sensor detects how the beam's wave length changes.

Color change
You exhale into a mouthpiece that's connected to a chamber filled with a red-orange solution. The alcohol in your breath changes the color of the solution to green, and a photocell measures the difference in color.

Breathalyzers need to be calibrated by a certified technician from the Suffolk County Crime Lab and maintained regularly to produce accurate results. Some substances, like acetone, can interfere with the breathalyzer's chemistry and be falsely identified as ethanol. Other substances in the environment, like gasoline additives, can also cause false positives.
You should speak with and gain the advice and counsel of a Suffolk County DWI attorney.