Breathalyzer

Breath-analysis machines detect and measure the alcohol present in air that is breathed out. When an individual drinks alcohol, the alcohol crosses from the intestine into the bloodstream. When the blood circulating around the body gets to the lungs, some of the alcohol in the blood crosses into the air contained in the tiny sacs of the lungs. The air that is breathed out of the lung will contain alcohol that can be measured by breath-analysis machines.

Researchers have determined the ratio of breath alcohol to blood alcohol. The Breathalyzer result allows the tester to estimate the concentration of alcohol in the blood. Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is approximately 2,300 times greater than breath alcohol concentration, with some variation among individuals. Breath-alcohol analysis is quick and noninvasive. This makes the Breathalyzer breath-test machine a useful tool for law enforcement agencies to monitor drinking and driving.

If a person's BAC measures 0.10, it means that there are 0.10 grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood. According to the American Medical Association, a person can become impaired when the BAC hits 0.05. The legal standard for drunkenness in the United States varies slightly according to state. Many states have now adopted a legal limit of 0.08, replacing the legal limit of 0.10 that was used across the United States in the past. The federal government has encouraged states to lower the legal limit by making more federal funding available to states that lower the limit from 0.10 to 0.08.

Officers routinely conduct field sobriety tests on motorists they suspect of driving while intoxicated. An officer first requests that the motorist perform certain physical tests, such as walking a straight line, putting a finger to the nose, or balancing on one foot, in order to corroborate the officer's suspicion. If the officer concludes that the motorist has failed one or more of these tests, the officer requests that the motorist submit to a Breathalyzer test. The results of the test can be used to support and corroborate the police officer's opinion in testimony at trial. In those states that set blood-alcohol intoxication levels, the results can demonstrate that the motorist's blood-alcohol level exceeded the permissible level.

A motorist can refuse to take a Breathalyzer test. However, under some state laws, the motorist's driver's license will then be automatically suspended for a set period of time. In the late 1990s some states, including New York and California, approved laws that madeit a crime to refuse a Breathalyzer test. Legislators concluded that the penalty of a license suspension was not severe enough for drunk drivers.

Because Breathalyzer test results serve as powerful evidence, defendants and their lawyers often obtain experts who question the way the test was administered and the reliability of the Breathalyzer machine itself. If the Breathalyzer machine has not received proper and timely maintenance, this information can be used to cause a jury to have a reasonable doubt about the accuracy of the results. This failure has led to an acquittal (failure to convict) in a number of trials.

In recent years, schools have begun to use the Breathalyzer breath-test machine as well. Some schools now use Breathalyzers at school functions such as proms to bar entrance to students whose test results show that they have blood alcohol levels above the legal limit. Such use of the Breathalyzer is controversial. Some students and others see this use as an infringement on students' rights; others see it as a way to save lives and to discourage the use of alcohol among minors.

Blood Alcohol Concentration; Driving, Alcohol, and Drugs; Drug Testing Methods and Analysis.

This is the complete article, containing 614 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page).