What is a common cause for the Intoxilyzer 8000 to produce inaccurate results?

Mouth alcohol contamination is a significant factor that can lead to inaccurate results when using the Intoxilyzer 8000. This occurs when residual alcohol remains in the mouth, throat, or upper respiratory tract after consuming alcoholic beverages, leading to a higher reading than what is present in the bloodstream. The breathalyzer analyzes the alcohol content in the breath sample, and if there is mouth alcohol present, it can falsely elevate the results.

This emphasizes the importance of ensuring that subjects have not consumed alcohol shortly before the test or have not had any alcohol present in their mouths, as this contamination can skew the readings significantly. Proper protocol generally involves waiting a specific period after the subject consumes alcohol to allow any mouth alcohol to dissipate before conducting the test.

Other factors such as insufficient power supply, improper operator training, and environmental temperature fluctuations may impact the functionality and accuracy of the device, but the immediate effect of residual alcohol in the mouth is a well-documented and critical concern leading to misleading results.