The machine that is used widely in Florida to help put DUI suspects on trial has been on trial itself, with no clear verdict on whether it is guilty or not.
The Intoxilyzer 8000 is the latest in a line of machines used to test blood alcohol concentration in a DUI suspect, using breath blown into the machine. It has been widely criticized by some people for inaccuracies. The machine is approved by the Florida Law Enforcement Agency, as well as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). This breathalyzer is the most widely used DUI testing machine by police departments right across the state.
One particular machine has been put through a battery of temperature tests recently, with more tests still to be done. The tests that have now been completed included cooling the machine down to -13o F and raising it to 150o F. It is still to be tested for comparison against other chemical tests used to determine a person’s blood alcohol level (BAC).
DUI defense attorneys have stated that the machines have been off limits to anybody apart from the Florida Law Enforcement Agency and police departments, making it almost impossible to verify whether particular machines are in fact as reliable as the Agency claims. One defense firm represents several DUI clients who were charged as a result of evidence from the use of this particular breathalyzer. They had challenged the reliability of the machine and the recent trials have been brought about as a result of this legal challenge.
The test results have been contradictory and it will now be left to individual juries to make a final decision about the reliability of the machine every time a DUI trial comes up. According to the machine’s supporters, it performed with expected accuracy within the extreme temperature ranges that it was exposed to. Opponents of the machine point to a gas leak which occurred from the machine’s nitrogen tank and have suggested that it caused a malfunction of the printer under test conditions. They claim this was due to some unknown fault in the Intoxilyzer, not the printer.
Whatever the final verdict on this particular machine, the use of Intoxilyzers in general will probably still be in doubt. There are many of these machines used in the state and any one of them may still result in inaccurate alcohol readings. The machines have to be calibrated every time they are used against a standard nitrogen / alcohol mixture contained within the machine. Some of the complaints in the past relate to the calibration not being carried out properly.
The person who uses the machine must be trained in its use and know how to maintain the machine so that it provides an accurate reading. The machine also only measures the blood alcohol content at the time the DUI suspect’s breath is tested. This may or may not be the same as the alcohol content at the time the suspect was driving. This means that the Intoxilyzer’s test results must be mathematically extrapolated back to give an estimate of the alcohol content in the driver at the time they were stopped.
There are other potential errors, too. The machine measures the absorption of infra red light as it passes through the breath sample being tested. The machine does not necessarily make allowances for other substances present in the mouth or stomach of the driver. It is quite possible for several chemical substances to simulate similar readings as alcohol and yet have no effect whatsoever on a person’s ability to drive.
The trial of the Intoxilyzer 8000 is not yet over and the potential inaccuracies in its use will probably remain a source of keen attention to detail whenever a Tampa DUI attorney takes on the defense of a person who has been arrested for DUI.
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