| For quite awhile now DUI attorneys and law | | | | Researchers have discovered that 70 to 80 percent |
| enforcement have argued about the reliability of DUI | | | | of the compounds in a person's body do contain |
| analyzing devices. DUI attorneys have pleaded over | | | | methyl groups. The prosecution must prove beyond a |
| and over again that devices are indeed unreliable. | | | | doubt that ethyl alcohol was in the body at the time of |
| They claim that these devices can find other | | | | the breath test in order for a drunk driver to be |
| compounds in the body and mistake them for ethanol, | | | | prosecuted. Researchers have also concluded that |
| or ethyl alcohol, a compound found in alcoholic drinks. A | | | | breath alcohol analysis is not proof enough to convict |
| driver could register as having a high blood alcohol | | | | someone of a DUI. |
| content (B.A.C.), however, in reality there is a small | | | | Other studies have been done to see if breath test |
| amount, if any at all, ethanol in the system. DUI | | | | machines are as conclusive as blood tests. A study |
| attorneys have discovered that these breath test | | | | was conducted in which members of the toxicology |
| machines are not as reliable or accurate as blood | | | | section of the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene. |
| tests. What's interesting though is that these devices | | | | These researchers found that only 33% of the breath |
| have become the standard instruments used by the | | | | test results matched the corresponding blood tests. |
| courts in finding out whether or not a person has been | | | | What makes this study really interesting is that in 11 of |
| drunk driving. | | | | the cases, the drunk driving offender was found to be |
| What most people don't realize is that breath test | | | | drunk using one of the tests even though the other |
| machines haven't been designed to detect the | | | | tests showed that they were not drunk. |
| molecule of ethyl alcohol. Most breathalyzer tests can | | | | The bottom line here is: Machines are only as perfect |
| only discover a tiny part of that molecule. The breath | | | | as the humans who have created them and we |
| test machines assume that the methyl group is related | | | | shouldn't depend on them for all the answers. We |
| to the ethyl alcohol compound. Imagine all the different | | | | have to remember that breath test machines are run |
| types of compounds in a person's body. The possibility | | | | by computers and we all know that computers can |
| of the breath test device mistaking a combination of | | | | often break down or have technical issues. |
| these compounds as ethyl alcohol is pretty high. | | | | |