Few things are more stressful than seeing flashing lights in your rear-view mirror after a night of drinking alcohol. Indeed, not only can driving under the influence of alcohol land you in a jail cell, but it also can cause you to lose your driver’s license.
Luckily, no police officer can arrest you on a whim. In fact, officers must have a legally valid reason, known as probable cause, to put you in handcuffs. Because failing a DUI breath test gives officers probable cause, you might be looking for some way to trick the test.
The old penny myth
For decades now, many individuals have believed that sucking on a coin can throw off a DUI breath test. This old myth has some basis in fact. When DUI testing was in its infancy, metals could interfere with a test’s results. This is no longer the case, however, as test manufacturers have improved their products significantly.
The way you present yourself
In any roadside stop, you do not want to do anything that makes matters worse. Because patrol officers have heard about the old penny myth, putting a coin in your mouth may do just that. That is, if you have a coin in your mouth, officers are likely to know you are trying to pull the wool over their eyes.
Beyond that, you should know just how filthy coinage is.
According to reporting from LendEDU, coins have thousands of bacteria on them. Ultimately, if you try to beat a DUI charge by sucking on a penny or any other coin, you might become quite ill.