Some of the best burps happen after drinking a lot of beer, and it’s pretty common for a six pack to lead into a competition for the best burp among friends. Unfortunately, there’s no crowd of “burp-thusiasts” waiting to cheer you on after you’ve been seen swerving in traffic or blowing through a traffic light; just a cop with a breathalyzer who’s really not amused. Your post-beer burp could actually land you in more trouble than you know, and it is not a smart way to fool a breathalyzer test.
Like this guy, you could be arrested for failing to cooperate with officers for “over-burping” during a suspected DUI traffic stop. Burping releases gas from your stomach and while logic may dictate an increased presence of alcohol in the breath from a burp, that theory was disproven by researchers over a decade ago. Still, police officers are advised to observe your actions for a while before giving you the breathalyzer test, just to eliminate the chance of a false positive breathalyzer test result.
If you have a car breathalyzer or ignition interlock on your car, the “burp test” could also work against you. Your burp will measure at its accurate blood alcohol content (BAC) level, the reading will be recorded, and then you’ll have to test again within a few minutes. Under the influence of alcohol, a burp could be an intentional way to fool the car breathalyzer, or an accident, but either way, you’ll have a failed test. Remember, the car breathalyzer doesn’t really care that you’re trying to circumvent the test with a burped BAC reading, it cares that you are intoxicated and should not be driving.
Burping won’t create enough confusion for an officer or a car breathalyzer to think you’re sober. Burping won’t beat car breathalyzer tests, and it won’t score points to get you out of a DUI charge in either situation. Leave the burping to the professionals and just call it a night.