The scenario that comes to mind when I think of the challenges that many face during the interlock program is a story that my friend shared with me. She had been late for work on prior occasions, but her failure to arrive on time for her 8:00 a.m. installation this morning was by far the worst. She had been sipping on a glass of kombucha while driving to work and was not aware that the fermentation in the drink would trigger a failure. It did not matter that she had not consumed any alcohol. The fact that she had a few hours of work to complete before she was able to make contact with her counselor and that her test would be recorded for weeks was very distressing to her. She had purchased the kombucha at a gas station.
My friend had a trouble code recorded when she blew after drinking a kombucha that she had purchased at a gas station. As you read, a fermentation occurred in her drink and she had a failed test recorded on her record for weeks until the trouble code was resolved. She had not had a drink of alcohol. This is just another great example of the interlock margin of error and also how most interlock violations are caused by interlock misperceptions and poor compliant habits.
The device doesn’t know your intentions
What The Device Doesn’t Know About You
The car breath test device does not know anything about you and therefore cannot possibly take that into consideration when conducting a test. In other words, it does not matter to the device whether you had mouthwash this morning that contained alcohol. It does not matter to the device whether you had eaten a banana for breakfast that was ripe and had a high concentration of alcohol. All the device can do is measure what it detects by way of breath samples and report the results to your monitoring authority. There is no explanation given to the monitoring authority as to the circumstances surrounding the test. In other words, there is no explanation given to the monitoring authority as to why you had failed the test in the first place.
The typical individual is instructed on how to comply with an interlock program by going through a list of steps. While following these steps is adequate for enabling an individual to comply with an interlock program on a surface level, it takes a multitude of additional habits that an individual must acquire in order to enable them to really comply with an interlock program on a deeper level. It takes a lot of discipline on an individual’s part to learn about the individual idiosyncrasies of the interlock device hooked up to their vehicle and to work them into their daily routine. However, if an individual is up for the challenge, it will pay off in the long run because they will have a long and clean program record.
After a while all the adjustments to daily habits become second nature and become automatic. However, most programs underestimate the number of changes required to incorporate into daily routines in order to comply with the interlock requirements of a driver who has been convicted of a drink driving offense. Furthermore, there is a dearth of literature to prepare offenders for the practical requirements of an interlock device.
What to build into your morning routine
Another under looked aspect of daily habits to alter in compliance with your monitoring are those within your morning routine. In reality, the vast majority of failed tests will occur prior to the violator having even had a chance to consume an alcoholic beverage. Most violations will occur when a violator is running late for work or running late for a night on the town and they brush their teeth while singing in the shower and grab a quick coffee on the way out the door to jump in their car. Two key components in the morning routine of most individuals that can cause a failure prior to having a chance to drink an alcoholic beverage are mouthwash and bananas.
- Rinse with water after brushing, not just a quick swish. Alcohol-based mouthwashes can linger longer than you’d expect, especially if you use them right before testing.
- Wait at least 15-20 minutes after eating or drinking anything before your first test. Coffee, juice, certain protein bars — anything with sugars that might ferment slightly in the mouth can register.
- Keep your breath test consistent. A slow, steady exhale works better than short puffs. Learn the rhythm your specific device responds to and repeat it every single time.
- Don’t test in a closed garage if you can help it. Fumes from cleaning products, gasoline, and other chemicals can occasionally interfere with older sensor models.
For some reason, most people aren’t used to thinking about their morning routine and how it could possibly affect them. It’s only when they’re running late for work after a few hours of sleep that they even start to think about what they need to do to get ready to go.
Products that catch people off guard
This is perhaps the area that I feel most frustrates within the monitoring program. Participants are given a huge amount of information and exposed to many aspects of the monitoring program at their orientation. And then they go home and continue doing things as they normally would. In most cases participants do not even think of hand sanitizers, food items with alcohol, breath sprays, etc until after they have found out that these can cause violations of their monitoring program.
| Product type | Potential issue | Safer alternative |
| Alcohol-based mouthwash | Residual ethanol on breath | Alcohol-free mouthwash or plain water rinse |
| Hand sanitizer (used just before testing) | Vapor inhalation near face | Apply well before getting in the car |
| Kombucha and certain fermented drinks | Trace alcohol content | Check labels, avoid right before testing |
| Breath spray with alcohol | Direct residue on mouth | Water or alcohol-free alternatives |
For the items listed in the tables above that would be of concern and potentially logged by your device are familiar items that can be found in retail stores, such as items that would typically be found in a typical convenience store or other retail store that sells similar items. None of the listed items are unusual, and do not require any specialized knowledge to recognize and understand potential complications with an interlock device.
Staying on top of rolling retests
Rolling Re-Tests while Traveling in your Vehicle with an Interlock Device. These are events where while traveling in your vehicle, additional tests will be required by your interlock device. These can be a huge problem for many individuals. The point in time that the event which requires the additional test(s) will typically occur prior to you getting into your vehicle and traveling. Also, the additional test(s) required by your interlock device will typically occur while you are traveling in your vehicle. So, if an event which requires a re-test(s) occurs prior to you putting your key into the ignition of your vehicle, and you are traveling in your vehicle when the additional test(s) are required by your interlock device, the additional test(s) are referred to as “rolling re-tests.” These can be a huge problem if you are not mentally prepared for the additional tests required by your interlock device.
For example, while traveling in another scenario in which you might have to take a test while driving is shortly after a detour in which you stopped to pick up an energy drink. In this case, there would be a short time period (15 minutes or so) during which you would have to wait until you have pulled over to the side of the road to eat and drink in order to comply with interlock requirements. (Again, this will only be the case for a short time, until you get used to it, i.e. 2 or 3 weeks.)
A quick-reference checklist
- Switch to alcohol-free oral care products for the duration of your program.
- Build in a 20-minute buffer between eating or drinking and your first test each day.
- Practice consistent breath technique so each test is the same as the last.
- Keep the car door open or window down while testing in enclosed spaces.
- Never eat or drink once you’re in motion, and save snacks for before you start.
- Attend every calibration appointment and ask your technician about anything unusual.
Service Provider – A Useful Partner
Working with your service provider, not around them. I have found that it is incredibly important to work with your service provider, as opposed to working around them. In many cases, there is quite a bit of latitude that a monitoring authority has regarding the specifics of how a program is implemented. That is to say that there is more room for individuals to work with their service providers in regards to certain specifics of a monitoring program than is commonly believed. In terms of managing requirements across different states, it is generally a good idea to work with a single service provider for all of your monitoring needs. This can help to make managing requirements in different states much easier.
We here at Road Guard Interlock services (Harrisonburg DUI ignition interlock device) can help clients and their families through the very specific protocols for individual interlock devices. Furthermore we are able to schedule the required interlock calibration’s and can explain what various reports and monitoring reports are meant to indicate for the client’s case. Remember to perform the required preflight checks on any airplane prior to flight; it is no different for your interlock monitoring service and devices – complete routine servicing and maintenance prior to problems occurring to keep you on track.
While the interlock monitoring program in the state where you received a DUI conviction is a finite period of time; the monitoring program requires participants to take the program seriously and to learn to live with the monitoring requirements. If participants take the program seriously while it counts, monitoring program requirements will become less of a problem as time passes. It’s only necessary to take up a few good monitoring program habits and the monitoring program will cease to be a problem. For example, old breath test devices are typically stored in glove compartments of cars. Such is the case with very old breath test devices that contained breath test sample in a can of liquid. This is a great example of an old monitoring program habit that, if you were a participant in the DUI interlock monitoring program in the past, you probably wish that you had abandoned long ago.
There are a set of ways in which you can work with the interlock program to keep your record clean, and if you work in a serious of manner to keep your record clean during the time that it counts, you can form the habit of not having to keep, for example, an ancient can of breath spray in your glove compartment after the time has passed when your record will no longer be affected by the interlock program.
