Why the Datamaster Breath Machine is Unreliable

Posted Friday, July 27, 2018 by Andrew Charles Huff

Infrared breath testing is susceptible to several different kinds of errors. The first fallacy is that an individual’s actual blood/breath partition ratio is 2100:1. In fact, the actual blood/breath partition ratio in any given case depends on several factors, including a person’s body temperature and the time that the alcohol was consumed in relation to the breath test. Modern research has shown that the ratio can vary from 1100:1 to 3000:1. An actual blood/breath ratio that differs from 2100:1 can have a profound impact and a person’s breath test result. For example, suppose a person with a 1500:1 ratio blows .10 on the Datamaster – well over the legal limit. Given their ratio of 1500:1, that person’s actual BAC would be closer to .06 – well below the legal limit.

In addition to the controversy which surrounds the blood/breath partition ratio, the Datamaster and Datamaster CDM are susceptible to interference both from a multitude of substances other than alcohol and radio waves.