As you probably know, the commonwealth has some of the country’s strictest consequences for driving under the influence of alcohol. Officers across Pennsylvania also take their enforcement duties seriously. Therefore, if you drive with a blood alcohol concentration over the legal limit, you always have some chance of finding yourself in handcuffs.
Before arresting you, though, officers are likely to try to collect as much evidence of your guilt as possible. Indeed, they will probably ask you to breathe into a testing device. If so, you may wonder whether putting a penny in your mouth can help you beat a DUI breath test.
No basis in fact
When DUI breath testing was in its infancy, some believed copper could interfere with the test’s results. Because there is no empirical evidence to support this proposition, sucking on a penny to avoid a DUI arrest has always been an urban legend. As an intelligent person, you should not believe the myth.
More harm than good
Now that you know having a penny in your mouth does not affect the results of a DUI breath test, you may wonder why you should keep loose change out of your body. According to the New York Society of Certified Public Accountants, money is about the filthiest thing you could put into your mouth.
Beyond that, because officers know about the penny trick, sucking on a penny can raise their suspicions. Ultimately, it can be hard to argue that you have not been drinking if you are using a penny to try to trick a breath test.