Breathzlyzer & you
With the many festivities which started at Christmas and go into the Carnival 2011 season, we feel safe in making the assumption that alcohol consumption will be at higher than normal levels. Following the introduction of the breathalyzer in 2009, one can only wonder whether or not citizens have become more conscious of their alcohol consumption levels before driving on our nation’s roadways. While we do not have the statistics at hand to make a case for this, the Chamber continues to fully support the implementation of the breathalyzer. In fortification of this view, the Chamber ensured that the Arrive Alive team was present at our end-of-year function in December 2010, to test persons before they left.
In the last quarter of 2010, the Chamber’s Crime and Justice Committee hosted a session entitled “The Breathalyzer and You”. Speakers included Dr. Carol Khan, an attorney-at-law/medical practitioner, Mr. Quincy Hunte of Precision Point, a security technology provider, and representatives of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service. It was hosted in order to enlighten our members and those who may have not fully comprehended how the breathalyzer and the law governing it, is intended to work.
The breathalyzer is in fact a scientific and objective means to determine if persons are above or below the prescribed alcohol consumption limit. In the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic (Amendment) Act No. 19 of 2007 “the prescribed limit” refers to “breath alcohol concentration, thirty-five microgrammes of alcohol in one hundred millilitres of breath or such other proportion as may be prescribed” and “blood alcohol concentration of eighty milligrammes of alcohol on one hundred millilitres of blood, or such other proportion as may be prescribed”. The breathalyzer relies on a fuel-cell made of two platinum electrodes separated by acid-electrolyte porous material. When air containing concentrations of alcohol flows from one side to the other, acetic acid is produced along with positive ions and electrons. The first electrode collects the electrons, while the positive ions move to the other side of the cell where they combine with oxygen. The electrical current established between the two electrodes represents an accurate test in revealing the concentration of alcohol in the exhaled air.
It is important that citizens are aware of the law and their rights concerning the breathalyzer. Section 70(a) (1) of the Act states that, “No person shall drive or attempt to drive, or be in charge of a motor vehicle on a road or other public space if he has consumed alcohol in such a quantity that the proportion thereof in his breath or blood exceeds the prescribed limit.” As such a police officer may require a driver, a person attempting to drive or in charge of a motor vehicle, given reasonable cause, to provide a specimen of breath for a breath test at or near the place where the requirement is made, if the officer has reasonable cause to believe that the person has consumed alcohol above the prescribed limit. In this context ‘reasonable cause’ may include the scent of alcohol on the suspect’s breath, slurred speech, eyes red and droopy, swerving on the road and poor coordination.
If a person without reasonable cause shouldn’t this be fails to provide a specimen of breath where required under the relevant sections of the Act, he becomes guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine of eight thousand dollars or to imprisonment for three years. Additionally, if the person fails to provide a sample of breath and there is reasonable cause to suspect that the person has alcohol in his breath or blood above the prescribed limit, he may be arrested without a warrant. Similarly, if the person who has taken the breath test is found to have a proportion of alcohol in his breath exceeding the prescribed limit, he can be arrested without a without a warrant.
Once at the police station the arrested person will be required to provide a second breath sample. There must be an interval of not less than two and not more than ten minutes between the provisions of samples. The reading from the sample that indicates the lower concentration of alcohol is the one taken to be the result of the breath analysis.
If an individual fails the test and it is the person’s first conviction, the person is liable to a fine of eight thousand dollars or to imprisonment for three years. In the case of a second or subsequent conviction the person is liable to a fine of fifteen thousand dollars or to imprisonment for five years and may also be disqualified for a period of three years from the date of the conviction, from holding or obtaining a driving permit. For a third conviction for a like offence, the individual shall be permanently disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving permit.
There are many common myths surrounding the breathalyzer and the potential to beat the test, which include placing a coin in your mouth, using breath mints and even chewing pieces of brown paper bag. However, these have no effect on the results of the breathalyzer.
Alcohol itself, however, does discriminate somewhat. If a man and a woman were to consume the same amount of alcohol, the woman will almost always have a higher blood alcohol concentration. One reason is that it is alleged that a woman’s body contains more fatty tissue and less water than a man’s body. A smaller person will have a higher blood alcohol concentration than a larger one, because the alcohol is concentrated in a smaller body mass.
Alcohol abuse can has serious implications on the job for employees and for the employer’s brand and image. Companies can implement a zero tolerance for alcohol consumption on the job and random testing for drug and alcohol abuse. This dispenses with any advance notice to be given to the employee; however, new employees have to be made aware that this type of random testing is, in fact, performed. Additionally, companies may provide counselling for offenders, education for their staff and penalties for failures or non-compliance. Companies with vehicle fleets may utilise tracking systems for real time location and management of fleet. The Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device is an ideal tool which requires a driver to provide a breath sample prior to starting the vehicle and at random intervals thereafter.
The Chamber appeals to all citizens to be responsible and mindful other users of the roadways and their families this Carnival season. As a society, we must continue to say no to drinking and driving!
