Man claims dry burp flawed breathalyzer test

A man arrested for allegedly driving drunk is fighting to get his license back, saying his breath test was flawed because he was burping at the time. Frederick Cronin is appealing a decision by the state Division of Motor Vehicles to suspend his license.

During the 20-minute period, Cronin told Call that he had burped. Under administrative rules, police are required to restart the 20-minute observation period if a person "vomits, regurgitates or belches" during that time.

After learning of the burp, Call restarted the observation period, the appeal said. Following the observation, Cronin was given a breath test, which allegedly showed he had a blood alcohol level of 0.12 percent. The level a driver is considered drunk is .08 percent. Before a required second sample was taken, Cronin told Call that he had burped again. Call then heard Cronin burp, but described it as a "dry burp," the appeal said.

The results of that second test put Cronins alleged blood alcohol level at 0.13 percent, court papers said. But the hearings examiner ruled that a "dry burp" did not constitute a "belch," and therefore the 20-minute observation period did not need to be restarted again. » Article here