The Intoxilyzer 8000, the state's flawed tool in the battle against drunk driving

[The Straight Story]

One in seven Ohioans has one – a life-long legal scar that has become the voodoo of our generation(s). According to the Ohio Department of Safety, more than 1.3 million licensed drivers in the state have at least one “DUI” conviction. This eye-opening number suggests far too many Ohioans are getting behind the wheel impaired.

But percolating through appeals courts across the state is a growing number of defendants who believe they limited their blood alcohol to a safe level. They’re challenging the state’s certified breathalyzer, the Intoxilyzer 8000, claiming it wrongly inflated their blood alcohol level or BAC.

Defense attorneys across the state say the Intoxilyzer 8000 is fundamentally flawed because its main function is based on bad science.

Several judges subsequently ruled in the defendants favor, calling the breathalyzer “unreliable,” which makes the line between illegally impaired and legally able to drive in Ohio (.08 of BAC) not so clear anymore.

...

Drinking one or two beers can’t possibly get anyone arrested, but the Intoxilyzer 8000 cannot differentiate the breath from your lungs than from your mouth, where there’s a much higher concentration of alcohol. Thus the time a person takes to finish a drink and get behind wheel becomes a significant factor in whether “You just blew $10,000,” as the anti-OVI billboards state.


http://columbusfreepress.com/article/intoxilyzer-8000-states-flawed-tool-battle-against-drunk-driving

[Flying Squirrel]

1. On the other hand...

First time offenders are incredibly likely to drive drunk again simply because they think they can get away with it. According to various studies, first-time drunk driving offenders are on the road anywhere from 88 to 500 times before they are caught in the act of driving drunk (Mejeur). To drunk drivers, it is worth driving drunk and running the risk of getting caught because they believe the chances of them getting arrested are close to none.

http://www.studymode.com/essays/Stricter-Penalties-On-First-Time-Drunk-Driving-549433.html

Speaking from personal experience, I'd estimate that over a 20 year period, I drove drunk well over 500 times before finally getting a DUI - including several times where I was in fact pulled over, but inexplicably not given a ticket. The only difference between me and someone in prison for vehicular homicide (or someone who killed him/herself) is pure chance. I'd be willing to bet that many of those people who believe they had limited their blood alcohol to a "safe level" on the particular day/night they got caught, had been more intoxicated on other occasions but got lucky.

I'd prefer that the cops use the most reliable breathalyzer possible, but if funding prevents that, I'd rather see an occasional person get the DUI who might not deserve it on that particular day than the alternative (people not getting a DUI who deserve one.) The more people who can be identified who need help with substance abuse, the better.

Also, it is entirely possible to avoid the "life-long legal scar" - I've just completed a 5-year deferred prosecution, complying with all conditions of the court, which means the DUI is no longer on my record. This is available once per person, at least in the state of Washington.

[Initech]

2. So who is selling the Intoxilyzer and who's getting rich off it?