Recent studies question whether small levels of ethanol present in many energy drinks cause a false positive reading on a DUI breath test.
In a report published in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology, researcher studied this question and came up with mixed results. First, it was clear most energy drinks have low levels of ethanol in them. In nearly 30 types of drinks tested, about 89% showed levels of ethanol detectable in testing.
Next, researchers attempted to see if this ethanol would show up in breath tests. They found that 40% of tests did show moderate levels of alcohol after a person drank an energy drink containing ethanol; this represented 11 in 27 trials. The testing equipment used was the DataMaster, a portable DUI breath test machine.
The amount a breath test was raised due to energy drinks was only about .015% in the most severe cases. However, this is enough to put a person over the legal limit in many criminal cases. For example, a politician in New Mexico was charged with DUI and forced to resign from her job for testing .08% on one of two breath tests administered.
Despite this result, though, it is unlikely this defense will stand in court. The team of researchers also discovered that waiting just 15 minutes after consumption of an energy drink will cause the affects to disappear. DUI breath test procedures all have a "waiting" period for reasons very similar to this. The waiting period is usually 20 minutes.
The waiting period is in place to stop residual alcohol on the breath from appearing as "blood alcohol" in a test. For example, a person who has just taken a sip of an alcoholic beverage may test positive even if the one sip is all she drank. Dentures and other dental fixtures can exacerbate the time it takes for alcohol to leave the breath. If an officer violates the waiting period, the energy drink defense may be possible..
More surprising than these issues, though, are tests that show energy drinks increase the level of danger a person assumes on any given night out. Mixing caffeine and alcohol, a stimulant and a depressant, masks the affect of the alcohol. People are more likely to think they are sober and act sober when drinking energy drinks. However, their blood alcohol levels do not actually change.
Consuming energy drinks with alcohol can also pose significant health risks, including heart palpitations and a higher rate of dehydration. Avoiding mixing energy drinks and alcohol will lead to a safer, healthier evening.
