Can you pass a breathalyzer the next day
How Long Can a Breathalyzer Notice Alcohol? What You Need to Know
When it comes to knowledge how long a breathalyzer can detect alcohol in your system, several factors come into engage. Whether you're curious about the effects of two beers, how long alcohol stays in your breath, or whether you can pass a breathalyzer 12 hours after drinking, this guide will help clarify the process. We’ll also discuss why choosing Intoxalock ignition interlock devices (IIDs) is your best option for getting back on the road fast and easily.
How Long Does Alcohol Stay in Your System for a Breathalyzer?
Alcohol can be detected in your system for varying periods depending on several factors, including body weight, metabolism, and the amount of alcohol consumed. Typically, alcohol remains in your system and is in breath for up to 24 hours after consumption1.
Alcohol Detection for Ignition Interlock Devices
A common question we receive is how long does alcohol stay on your breath when using an ignition interlock device. IIDs can detect alcohol for as long as it remains in the breath at a concentration that the device can register. The detection window typically depends on factors
Understanding Breathalyzer Tests
If you’ve been ordered to use an ignition interlock device, such as those from Intoxalock, it’s important to know how to pass a breathalyzer test and avoid any issues that could lead to a failed test or lockout. Whether you're trying to start your car or preparing for a random breath test while driving, this guide will help you understand the process.
When is a Breath Test Required?
Breath tests may be required if you've been suspected or convicted of a DUI, OUI, or DWI-related offense. For suspected alcohol-related offenses, these tests can be conducted by law enforcement using a handheld breathalyzer. After conviction, you may need a car breathalyzer, known as an ignition interlock device (IID) installed in your vehicle.
Additionally, commercial breathalyzers provide a convenient, portable way to self-test your breath alcohol levels.
An ignition interlock device, or car breathalyzer, is installed in your vehicle to measure your Breath Alcohol Concentration (BrAC) and ensure it's safe for you to drive. Before starting the car, you’ll blow into the interlock device to take a breathalyzer test. Random retests
How Long Does it Take After Drinking to Pass a Breath Test?
After a night of celebrations, many people believe they’re fit to drive home even when they’ve consumed alcoholic beverages. They assume late-night driving is safer due to fewer cars on the road, making it seem like a reasonable choice. Rationalizing drinking and driving leads to tens of thousands of preventable deaths each year and hundreds of arrests.
Excessive alcohol consumption not only risks impaired driving but can also lead to alcohol poisoning—a serious, potentially fatal condition marked by symptoms such as confusion and unconsciousness, necessitating immediate medical attention. Regular drinkers might think they know how alcohol affects their bodies, often categorizing themselves as heavy or light drinkers based on personal judgment. Despite these self-assessments, a breathalyzer test can reveal a different reality. This device objectively measures blood alcohol content (BAC), underscoring that the ability to avoid a hangover does not correlate with BAC levels or driving safety. Alcohol metabolism is complex and individualized, involving multiple body systems and requiring time to process fully.
Understand Tricking a Breathalyzer Test: 10 Myths That You Do Not Want to Try
If you drive after consuming alcohol, you may feel desperate when you see police lights flashing behind you and know that you are being pulled over. The police officer could ask you to blow into a small, handheld device called an Alco-Sensor for a preliminary breath screening test or a Model Intox EC/IR II machine at the police station for a formal breathalyzer test. While you are not required to agree to this, refusing to submit to a breathalyzer test can come with harsh penalties. Your refusal could be used against you in criminal DWI proceedings, and your driver’s license could be suspended for up to a year. Instead of refusing to blow into the breathalyzer machine, you may consider agreeing to submit to the test and trying to "trick" it to pass. Will this work?
Common Myths About Tricking a Breathalyzer Test
Some people are under the mistaken impression that they can pass a breathalyzer test. You may have even heard a story of a co-worker or friend who claims to have done so. Unfortunately, these ways of tricking the breathalyzer machine simply do not work. Here are some common myths about how to bea
Can I drive the morning after drinking alcohol?
Even if you've been to sleep after drinking, there could still be high levels of alcohol in your system, and this could be enough to put you well over the drink driving limit.
The safest and best advice is to avoid alcohol completely the night before you have to drive.
How will I know if I’m OK to drive?
Whether it’s OK to drive the next morning depends on a lot of different factors, including how much you drank and if you've left enough time for your body to get rid of the alcohol.
The amount of alcohol in your bloodstream depends on a few things, including the amount you drink, over what period of time and the speed at which your body gets rid of it.
On average, alcohol is removed from the body at the rate of about one unit an hour.1,2
But this varies from person to person. It depends on your size, whether you are male or female, how much food you’ve eaten, the state of your liver, and your metabolism (how quickly or slowly your body turns food into energy).3
You can’t speed up the process
There’s nothing you can do to speed up the rate alcohol leaves your system. Having a cup of coffee or a cold s

Tricking a Breathalyzer Test: 10 Myths That You Do Not Want to Try
If you drive after consuming alcohol, you may feel desperate when you see police lights flashing behind you and know that you are being pulled over. The police officer could ask you to blow into a small, handheld device called an Alco-Sensor for a preliminary breath screening test or a Model Intox EC/IR II machine at the police station for a formal breathalyzer test. While you are not required to agree to this, refusing to submit to a breathalyzer test can come with harsh penalties. Your refusal could be used against you in criminal DWI proceedings, and your driver’s license could be suspended for up to a year. Instead of refusing to blow into the breathalyzer machine, you may consider agreeing to submit to the test and trying to "trick" it to pass. Will this work?
Common Myths About Tricking a Breathalyzer Test
Some people are under the mistaken impression that they can pass a breathalyzer test. You may have even heard a story of a co-worker or friend who claims to have done so. Unfortunately, these ways of tricking the breathalyzer machine simply do not work. Here are some common myths about how to bea
Can I drive the morning after drinking alcohol?
Even if you've been to sleep after drinking, there could still be high levels of alcohol in your system, and this could be enough to put you well over the drink driving limit.
The safest and best advice is to avoid alcohol completely the night before you have to drive.
How will I know if I’m OK to drive?
Whether it’s OK to drive the next morning depends on a lot of different factors, including how much you drank and if you've left enough time for your body to get rid of the alcohol.
The amount of alcohol in your bloodstream depends on a few things, including the amount you drink, over what period of time and the speed at which your body gets rid of it.
On average, alcohol is removed from the body at the rate of about one unit an hour.1,2
But this varies from person to person. It depends on your size, whether you are male or female, how much food you’ve eaten, the state of your liver, and your metabolism (how quickly or slowly your body turns food into energy).3
You can’t speed up the process
There’s nothing you can do to speed up the rate alcohol leaves your system. Having a cup of coffee or a cold s