Hand sanitiser fools breath-testing device
An Auckland man was shocked to learn he had failed a breathalyser test due to using hand sanitiser before being pulled over.
Ben Shivas had been driving home from work on Thursday evening when he arrived at a police checkpoint in Herne Bay.
Shivas, 26, failed the roadside test despite not having consumed any alcohol that day.
‘‘It was a bit of a shock, but I knew it had to be an error. The officer taking the test questioned me about the result, and when I told her I hadn’t had any alcohol she asked if I’d used hand sanitiser recently.’’
Shivas said he had used sanitiser about 15 minutes before arriving at the checkpoint, and had a large bottle in the driver’s side door.
He was then asked to pull over and take a breath screening test where he blew into a device. No alcohol was detected.
A police spokesman said there were three steps in testing if a driver was under the influence of alcohol. The first step, known as the passive breath test, could pick up alcohol-based products, such as hand sanitiser.
‘‘Any alcohol-based product in the atmosphere of a vehicle may be picked up by the hand-held device used for the passive breath test,’’ he said.
‘‘The second step is a breath screening test for drivers who are shown to have alcohol on their breath. This requires the driver to blow into a plastic tube connected to the breath-testing device.’’
The spokesman said as this second test was taken straight from the driver’s respiratory tract it would give an approximate alcohol level contained in the driver’s breath.
‘‘Depending on that result, the driver may be required to undergo an evidential breath test.’’
The Ministry of Health recommends using hand sanitiser to prevent the spread of Covid-19, if soap and water are not available and hands are ‘‘not visibly dirty’’.
According to the ministry’s website, sanitiser should contain at least 60 per cent alcohol to be effective.