Why is Anyone Still Using Breath Testing for DUI? The Case for Banning Breath Testing

Breath testing for blood alcohol content (BrAC) has been a staple in law enforcement for decades. From roadside stops to DUI checkpoints, the technology has been widely utilized to help determine whether someone is under the influence of alcohol. However, as scientific advancements and innovations continue to develop, it becomes increasingly clear that breath testing […]

The scientific and legal truth behind Stand-off detection of alcohol in car cabins

The scientific and legal truth behind Stand-off detection of alcohol in car cabins

The scientific and legal truth behind Stand-off detection of alcohol in car cabins A Huffington Post Article recently caught our eyes: New Laser Device May Be A Drunk Driver’s Worst Nightmare By Jacqueline Howard  Posted: 06/08/2014 7:28 am EDT Updated: 06/08/2014 7:59 am EDT. Just the title alone captured our imagination. So we looked into […]

Another day, Another Breath Test Scandal

Another day, Another Breath Test Scandal

Another day, Another Breath Test Scandal When will we just face facts, Breath Testing America just does not work any more. It is not useful. It perhaps served a purpose back in the 1950s, but today with blood testing and Gas Chromatography, it no longer is needed. Today’s story comes out of Colorado. Again, the […]

AlcoPro doesn’t want breath test devices in the hands of a skeptical attorneys

AlcoPro doesn’t want breath test devices in the hands of a skeptical attorneys

AlcoPro, Inc. is a distributor of portable breath test devices commonly referred to as PBTs. Law enforcement officers in many states use these devices on the side of the road to help determine if someone is possibly under the influence of alcohol. One of the more popular PBTs that they sell is the Alco-Sensor FST manufactured by Intoximeters, Inc. The […]

Closer to an 0.05 DUI standard–National Safety Council-Alcohol, Drugs and Impairment Division Report 2014

Closer to an 0.05 DUI standard–National Safety Council-Alcohol, Drugs and Impairment Division Report 2014

Closer to an 0.05 DUI standard–National Safety Council-Alcohol, Drugs and Impairment Division Report 2014 Here is an update here from the National Safety Council-Alcohol, Drugs and Impairment Division. As frequent readers of this blog know, the former National Safety Council (NSC) Committee on Alcohol and Other Drugs (COAD) was upgraded by the National Safety Council […]

Further evidence that breath testing in Pennsylvania is not scientific

Further evidence that breath testing in Pennsylvania is not scientific

Further evidence that breath testing in Pennsylvania is not scientific. “Just shut up and pay your taxes!” The Pennsylvania Department of Education and the Institute for Law Enforcement Education seemingly hate science and don’t appreciate taxpayers. It’s that darn whole science is open thing that neither PDE nor ILEE seem to understand. They just continue […]

GERD and breath alcohol testing: NHTSA misunderstands the epiglottitis and other curious statments

GERD and breath alcohol testing: NHTSA misunderstands the epiglottitis and other curious statments

GERD and breath alcohol testing The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently published its newest taxpayer publication related to DUI prosecution entitled: Challenges and Defenses II. These publications have generally been a hoot to read. There is a discussion in that publication on what it terms “The Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) defense.” In reality, […]

Joshua Goldberg on Breath Testing Part 4

Joshua Goldberg on Breath Testing Part 4

[Blog editor’s note: Joshua Goldberg of Pittsburgh, PA writes into us to share information about Breath Alcohol Content machines.]   Additional  Breath Testing Device Accuracy Limitations The main three issues with breath testing are:  (1) an assumed partition ratio; (2) an assumed breath temperature; and (3) measuring devices not specific to ethyl alcohol.  Breath testing […]

Joshua Goldberg on Breath Testing Part 3

Joshua Goldberg on Breath Testing Part 3

[Blog editor’s note: Joshua Goldberg of Pittsburgh, PA writes into us to share information about Breath Alcohol Content machines.]   III. THE ACCURACY LIMITATIONS OF BREATH TESTING DEVICES The courtroom must only permit sciences that accurately and reliably predict each defendant’s blood alcohol level. Yet, the twin assumptions of a 2100:1 partition ratio and a […]

Joshua Goldberg on BrAC testing part 2

Joshua Goldberg on BrAC testing part 2

[Blog editor;s note: Joshua Goldberg of Pittsburgh, PA writes into us to share information about Breath Alcohol Content machines.] THE HISTORY OF BREATH TESTING:  TWO ASSUMPTIONS AND A QUESTIONABLE SCIENTIFIC PEDIGREE. Part 2 Assumption 2:  Temperature of Breath Sample The second startling assumption occurs when the government couples the partition ratio with an assumed 34° […]

Joshua Goldberg on BrAC testing

Joshua Goldberg on BrAC testing

[Blog editor;s note: Joshua Goldberg of Pittsburgh, PA writes into us to share information about Breath Alcohol Content machines.] THE HISTORY OF BREATH TESTING:  TWO ASSUMPTIONS AND A QUESTIONABLE SCIENTIFIC PEDIGREE. Part 1 Modern breath theory as proposed by prosecutor’s testing emanates from a 19th Century formula discovered by British physician and chemist William Henry.  […]