Thse factors can affect the accuracy of a Breathalyzer test

 Posted on April 18, 2018 in OWI

Have you ever wondered what factors could affect your blood alcohol content (BAC) levels? There are many things that can interfere with the percentage concentration of alcohol in your bloodstream after you've drunk an alcoholic beverage. In some cases, such factors could cause two people who drank the same amount of alcohol to render different BAC levels when taking a Breathalyzer test.

Here are a few things that could be contributing factors to varying Breathalyzer test results between two individuals who drank the same amount of alcohol during the same period of time.

• Your age: The older you are, the more you'll be affected by the intoxicating effects of alcoholic beverages. In this respect, you might have the same amount of alcohol in your blood as your younger counterpart, but you exhibit more signs of inebriation.
• Your sex: Men tend to show fewer signs of inebriation and will have a lower BAC than women after consuming the same amount of alcohol. This is because men tend to have more water in their blood than women.
• The strength of the drinks: Maybe you both had three gin and tonics, but your friend drank two made by a different bartender who mixed the drink with more alcohol.
• Fat and muscle content: Overweight people may have higher BACs based on the amount of alcohol they consume compared to their muscle-bound counterparts. This is because fat doesn't absorb alcohol very well but muscle does. When it comes to drinking, size doesn't matter as much as how much muscle you happen to have on your bones.

These are just a few factors that can affect your BAC after drinking alcoholic beverages. There are many more. At the end of the day, it's important to remember that you should never drive after consuming any amount of alcohol. Otherwise, you run a higher risk needing to defend yourself against drunk driving allegations in court.