| For many years now there have been arguments | | | | The prosecution must provide proof without a doubt |
| between DUI lawyers and law enforcement about the | | | | that the ethyl alcohol is responsible for the results |
| reliability of drunk driving analyzing devices. Lawyers | | | | produced by the breath analyzing instrument. |
| have said that these analyzing devices are not reliable. | | | | Researchers have come to the conclusions that |
| They believe that these devices detect other | | | | breath alcohol analysis is not sufficient to be used in |
| chemicals in the body and mistake them for ethanol, or | | | | the courts to charge a person for drunk driving. Also, |
| ethyl alcohol, a compound found in drinks containing | | | | research has been conducted to prove whether or |
| alcohol. A person could be found to have a high blood | | | | not breath tests are as reliable as blood tests. In one |
| alcohol content (B.A.C.), but in actuality there is none, if | | | | study, members of the toxicology section of the |
| very little, ethanol in the body. Breath analyzing devices | | | | Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene discovered |
| are not as reliable or accurate as blood tests. | | | | that only 33 percent of the breath test results |
| However, they have been used accepted by the | | | | correlated with corresponding blood tests. What is |
| courts as standard instruments in finding out whether | | | | worth noting about this study is that in 11 of the cases, |
| or not someone is indeed intoxicated. | | | | the defendant was shown to be intoxicated using one |
| What is interesting about this issue is that these breath | | | | of the tests even though the other tests showed that |
| analyzing devices are not designed to detect the | | | | they were not intoxicated. |
| molecule of ethyl alcohol. Most breathalyzer tests can | | | | So, the question we should be asking ourselves is this: |
| only detect a small part of that molecule. The | | | | Who actually will gain from these breath analyzing |
| breathalyzer test assumes that the methyl group is | | | | machines? Is is the manufacturers who sell these |
| part of an ethyl alcohol compound. There is a myriad | | | | devices to law enforcement? How do we know that |
| of compounds found on a person's breath. Isn't it | | | | these manufacturers have indeed developed perfect |
| possible that the breathalyzer instrument could mistake | | | | machines? Machines are only as perfect as the |
| a combination of these compounds as ethyl alcohol? | | | | humans who have created them. These devices are |
| It's been found that 70 to 80 percent of compounds | | | | run by computers and we all know that computers |
| found on a person's breath contain methyl groups. | | | | can often break down or have technical issues. So, in |
| Therefore, in order for someone to be convicted for | | | | essence, can we actually rely on breath analyzing |
| drunk driving, the prosecution must prove that ethyl | | | | devices? |
| alcohol was in the body at the time of the breath test. | | | | |