Facing a DWI-related stop, and potential DWI, can be quite frightening. You don’t know if you’re within the legal limit, what your rights are, and if you can do anything to help your case. You’ve likely heard a few little pieces of DWI stop folklore and you might want to try them out now and help your case. However, those folklore’s? Are mostly DWI stop myths. Do any of them work? Ultimately, there’s not too much you can do to cheat a DWI stop, as it’s pretty cut and dry. But, let’s take a look at those DWI stop myths, and we’ll explain to you why it is that they’re unsuccessful.
DWI Stop Myths: Trying to Cheat the System
Cheating a Breath Test
Possibly the most common of DWI stop myths, many people believe you can cheat a breath test. The myth is that you can cheat the test to produce a lower BAC and therefore, test under the legal limit. For example, people believe you can cheat a breath test by drinking mouth wash. While the mouth wash may mask the smell of alcohol, it may actually worsen your breath test. Many mouth washes have a low amount of alcohol in them, which could actually make your breath results even higher.
In another example, people believe you can suck on pennies to cheat a breath test. However, most breath test devices use an infrared light to measure the drop in intensity in light. Therefore, the copper from the pennies will not be able to throw off the device.
Reducing your drunkeness
Some other DWI stop myths focus on lowering how drunk you’ve become. In short, you want to be able to drink but then remain sober enough to drive. For instance, many people believe drinking strong, black coffee will help sober you up to drive. So after drinking too much, they may drink coffee in hopes of being able to drive home. Another idea like this, is to eat greasy foods after drinking. For instance, many people believe eating a big cheeseburger or slice of pizza will lower their blood alcohol concentration.
In reality, your BAC rises based on how much you drink
Nothing is going to speed up the process of lowering it. You must allow your body time to process the alcohol through your system. In short, most DWI stop myths are just that— myths. Once you drink and drive, you are subject to facing a DWI. While there isn’t much you can do to alter the outcome of the stop, there are things you can do to alter the outcome of your case. So, speak with an attorney about defense options for fighting your DWI.