Officials Admit to inaccurate BAC Tester

In March of this year Washington, DC officials admitted that equipment that district police were using to measure BAC had given inaccurate results.  Baltimore DUI Lawyers and defense attorneys across the US have known that there are potential problems with the devices for a long time, but to have public officials admit this is a new step.  The department said that they planned on replacing the old breath tests and that they would retrain officers on the new systems being put into place.  The malfunctioning machines are of the ubiquitous “Intoxilyzer” brand that are used by many police departments across the country.  90% of the machines were called into question, and officials say that the machines may have been giving incorrect readings since October of 2008.
Because the breath test is often vitally important to a prosecutor’s case against a person charged with DWI, this revelation brings with it questions about how many people may have been convicted and sentenced based on faulty readings.  Those convicted of DWI in DC face a mandatory five days in jail if their BAC is above .2, and a driver can be convicted based ONLY on the breath result.  While protecting our streets from dangerous and intoxicated drivers is important, it is also equally important that methods being used to determine whether someone is driving under the influence are fair and accurate.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/06/AR2010030602500.html?sub=AR