Authorities getting new BAC detection devices
BY MARK HALL
TodayÂ’s News-Herald
www.havasunews.com
Local law enforcement agencies will have a new tool to detect drunk drivers and boat operators.
Coming soon to the Lake Havasu City Police Department and the Mohave County SheriffÂ’s Office is the Intoxilyzer 8000, a smaller, more efficient version of the 5000, which is currently the accepted breath alcohol detection device throughout the state.
The state Department of Public Safety is working on a three-year, $1.8 million effort to phase out the 5000s.
The police department is looking to get a new machine in the next couple of months, but does not have a definitive date.
“We don’t foresee it for a month or two,” said Lt. Richie Sloma.
The Arizona Game and Fish is one state agency that has already obtained three of the portable devices for checking blood alcohol content (BAC), one of which could be in use on Lake Havasu or the Parker Strip by Memorial Day weekend.
“It’s our ultimate goal and intent to get these in operation by Memorial Day,” said Kevin Bergersen, boating law administrator with the Arizona Game and Fish Department.
Bergersen said that could depend on whether they would be able to get personnel trained to use the devices. Ed Jahrke, watercraft law enforcement manager with Game and Fish, said the new devices have many benefits over their predecessors, such as portability, timeliness and accuracy. “It’s really good technology,” Jahrke said.
He said the 8000s give the officer an opportunity to test the individual much more quickly. Currently, after numerous field sobriety tests, a suspect is then transported to some type of holding facility where an Intoxilyzer test is administered. During that time, the suspectÂ’s blood alcohol level can lower to legal limits, compromising the officersÂ’ arrest.
“You’re definitely working against the clock. The clock’s ticking and you don’t want to make a bad arrest. This will help expedite the process sooner,” Jahrke said.
The 8000 is a handheld device and is about the size of a laptop computer, while the 5000 is a large, stationary device.
In the state, Intoxilyzer and blood-drawn tests are the only alcohol-measuring tests admissible in courts.
You may contact the reporter at mhall@havasunews.com.
How does the "intoxilyzer" determine correct BAC via breath if the suspect has just had a drink? There was a thread on this a few months ago where someone was detained with a BAC of around .11 but within a short time span tested at somewhere around .05
Isn't that why LE can't do an accurate test on the scene anyway?
Originally posted by fourspeednup
How does the "intoxilyzer" determine correct BAC via breath if the suspect has just had a drink? There was a thread on this a few months ago where someone was detained with a BAC of around .11 but within a short time span tested at somewhere around .05
Isn't that why LE can't do an accurate test on the scene anyway?
It is to my understanding that the larger stationary devices are able to give an accurate bac reading even if you just had a drink. It is the smaller hand held units that the sherrifs have on their boats that give the innacurate readings.
Anytime you are asked to do a breathalizer you should refuse the test and demand that they do a blood test. There are 2 reasons for this. 1. The test is dead on accurate 100% of the time so if you're drunk you'll get popped if you're not then you won't get charged for something you're not guilty of. 2. Often times it takes a couple hours to get the blood test done so by the time they did it if you were border line DUI when they took you in for the test you are now in the clear. They may try to pull the bullshit of calculating the time you were takin into custody and factor that in with the current results but they only have the paper saying what it was when they got it and that's whats going to count in court.
Originally posted by fourspeednup
How does the "intoxilyzer" determine correct BAC via breath if the suspect has just had a drink?
Answer? (http://www.lion-breath.com/theory.htm)
So it is Henry's fault?
I had one of those test done here on the Sac River. The boat cops
made everyone in the boat take the test to determine who they
were going to let drive. Because I was over the limit on the breath
test. They said if no one in the boat could pass the test, they would tow the boat in and not let anybody drive. They let my brother drive the boat because he was the lowest.
My bitch is, they handcuff me and took me to the local jail. There
I was tested again and I was way under the limit, so they let me go. I think they just use the test for an excuse to hassel people.
my understanding is that these machines measure the amount of alcohol in the air that is being blown out of your lungs. Since there is presumably alcohol in your bloodstream after it is absorbed in your stomach, this alcohol in your blood travels through your lungs and each time that you blow out a breath of air, some of the alcohol leaves your lungs and gets in the air and is then measured by the machine as you blow into it. The percentage of alcohol expelled with the air that you breath out
is the determining factor. If you take a drink and immediately
blow into a machine, it will only read high while you have alcohol
in your mouth, within seconds after you swallow the drink, the
alcohol in your breath evaporates and is undetectable. For this
reason, when you breath on someone after drinking, they smell
your air coming out of your lungs, not what is on your breath.
Keith Sayre
Originally posted by Keith E. Sayre
my understanding is that these machines measure the amount of alcohol in the air that is being blown out of your lungs. Since there is presumably alcohol in your bloodstream after it is absorbed in your stomach, this alcohol in your blood travels through your lungs and each time that you blow out a breath of air, some of the alcohol leaves your lungs and gets in the air and is then measured by the machine as you blow into it. The percentage of alcohol expelled with the air that you breath out
is the determining factor. If you take a drink and immediately
blow into a machine, it will only read high while you have alcohol
in your mouth, within seconds after you swallow the drink, the
alcohol in your breath evaporates and is undetectable. For this
reason, when you breath on someone after drinking, they smell
your air coming out of your lungs, not what is on your breath.
Keith Sayre
That's what happen to me.
im not planning on being one of the forst guienne piggs!
In general, we observe the driver for at least 20 minutes prior to having them blow into the intoxilyzer. That amount of time will allow all "mouth alcohol" from just taking a drink to dissipate.
I just completed training on the new 8000, and it is a slick piece of equipment. It has the ability to detect mouth alcohol, by registering a "spike" in the reading, and then stops the test. This makes it so the subject of the test cannot be falsely charged, by just taking a drink, or mouthwash, etc. When the machine shows that mouth alcohol is present, we wait 20 minutes (observing the subject) and test again.
It also has the ability to use information form the magnetic strip on Arizona Driver's Licenses, (not set up for CA DLs) so we don't have to manually input all the person's information. Our certification card also has a magnetic strip with OUR information so we don't have to type that in every time, too.
Don't confuse the intoxilyzer, especially the new portable 8000, with the "Preliminary Breath Tester" (PBT) that we now carry. The PBT results are not admissible, as the device is not certified for that purpose. All we can testify to is that the PBT recorded the presence of alcohol. By the time the PBT is used, the Officer already has determined whether the subject is impaired, based on the performance of the FSTs.
The PBT is part of the field sobriety tests. After the usual dog and pony show, we use the PBT to verify that alcohol that causing the impairment, and not some other substance.
Just for info, if you do take the PBT test, you still have to take the certified intoxilyzer test if requested. Failure to do so will result in an additional charge that carries a fine of $750.00 (which will have a $500 surcharge starting this fall.) This charge does not depend on whether you're found guilty or innocent of the OUI in court. You may be found not-guilty, but will still be found responsible for the refusal, and fined.
And after all that WE will request a search warrant and take blood anyway, so refusing is just a waste of money.
If we get the 8000s, we'll most likely use them in the lower river areas, where in some cases the closest intoxilyzer is more than 50 miles away. On the Strip, we have a 5000 at our Center, right on the water, so the distance and time to test isn't much of a factor.
They will probably be used more on the Lake, where the intoxilyzer is at Contact Point, Havasu PD, or MCSO Office, and could be some distance from where the stop is made.
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