Datamaster 2000 Blood Alcohol Test

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A breathalyzer is a device that is used for estimating a person's blood alcohol content (BAC) from a breath sample.  In the United States, the Datamaster 2000 blood alcohol test is one of the most common breathalyzer brand names currently in use.

How Breathalyzers Work and Some of Their Deficiencies

Breathalyzers do not directly measure blood alcohol concentration or content.  Measuring blood alcohol content (BAC) requires the analysis of a blood sample.  Breathalyzers, rather, estimate blood alcohol concentration or content indirectly by measuring the amount of alcohol in one's breath.

A major issue with some breathalyzers, such as the Datamaster 2000, is that they not only detect the ethyl alcohol found in alcohol beverages, but also in other substances that have a similar molecular structure. Stated differently, the "problem" breathalyzers identify any compound containing the methyl group molecular structure. 

And the issue with this is that more than one hundred compounds can be found in a human's breath at any one time and 70% to 80% of these compounds contain the methyl group molecular structure.  The upshot of this is that these methyl group molecular structures will be incorrectly identified and labeled as ethyl alcohol. Ironically, the more ethyl group substances the breathalyzer detects, the higher the false blood alcohol content estimate will be.

Findings by The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has found that people who are diabetics or dieters can have acetone levels that are hundreds, if not a thousand of times higher than people who are not diabetics or dieters.  The key concern here is that acetone is one of the many substances that can be falsely detected as ethyl alcohol by some breathalyzers.

There's also numerous products found in the environment that can lead to erroneous BAC results with breathalyzers. Some these products include substances or compounds found in cleaning fluids, paint removers, celluloid, gasoline, and lacquers.  

Other common substances that can result in false BAC levels are alcohol, blood, or vomit in the person's mouth.  False BAC readings can also be triggered by police radios, moisture, tobacco smoke, cell phones, electrical interference, and dirt.

Breathalyzers can be very sensitive to temperature and will result in false readings if they are not recalibrated or adjusted to compensate for ambient or surrounding air temperatures.

Furthermore, the temperature of the person being tested is also important. More to the point, each degree (in Fahrenheit) in the subject's body temperature above 98.6 can result in a relatively large elevation (about 8%) in apparent BAC. 

A person's breathing rate can also significantly affect breathalyzer results.  For example, one study showed that the BAC readings of individuals who ran up a flight of stairs decreased 11% to 14%.  Furthermore, when these individuals ran up the stairs a second time, their BAC readings decreased 22% to 25%.

Another study demonstrated similar results (a decrease in BAC of 15%) in individuals who hyperventilated or who exercised vigorously. Moreover, hyperventilation for just 20 seconds has been shown to lower the breathalyzer BAC readings by about 10%. Conversely, individuals who hold their breath for 30 seconds can increase the breathalyzer BAC results by around 15%.

The failure of law enforcement officers to use the breathalyzers correctly and to properly maintain and re-calibrate the units when necessary also lead to false test scores. 

The Datamaster 2000 Blood Alcohol Test:  Conclusion

A breathalyzer is a device that is used for estimating a person's blood alcohol concentration from a breath sample.  The Datamaster 2000 blood alcohol test is one of the most common breathalyzer brand names currently in use in the United States.  

Keep in mind that research has demonstrated that breathalyzer test results can vary at least 15% from actual blood alcohol concentration levels measured with a blood test.  It is also important to point out that an estimated 23% of individuals tested with breathalyzers will have a blood alcohol content reading higher than their actual blood alcohol concentration level. 

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