In a courtroom, the information obtained from a digital alcohol test can pose a real challenge to the defense attorney. Unlike the reading from a dial, the reading from a digital alcohol test leaves the defense attorney with little reason to question the testing instrument’s lack of precision. The precise figure provided by digital readout gives the exact amount of alcohol in the blood of the tested individual. While the judge might acknowledge the accuracy of the digital readout, the defendant might sense a seeming disparity. The
defendant might feel that he or she had not been drinking long enough to develop the blood alcohol level obtained from the administered test. Here are a few explanations for any confused defendant.Dr. Robert Berkenstein, a former member of the Indiana State Police force, had studied the human physiology. His studies allowed him to invent the prototype for the present-day digital alcohol test. Dr. Berkenstein gave law enforcement officers a reason to alter their normal request of an erratic driver.
Before the appearance of the digital alcohol test, a suspected drunk driver might be asked to touch his or her nose with a pointed finger. Such a driver might be asked to walk in a straight line. After the development of the digital alcohol test, a law enforcement officer would ask a suspected drunk driver to take a deep breath. By taking a deep breath, that driver would allow air to reach his or her deep air sacs. Air in those air sacs could then pick-up any alcohol vapors from the blood stream.
If the person taking the deep breath had just had a drink, then the air in the deep air sacs would be proportional to his or her blood alcohol concentration (BAC).Dr. Berkenstein had been aware of that fact. His awareness of that fact had allowed him to see the value of a device that could detect and measure the amount of alcohol in a driver’s exhaled breath.
The invention produced by Dr. Berkenstein relied on a readout that lacked exact numbers. The instrument developed by Dr. Berkenstein had a dial much like the dial of a Geiger counter. A series of modifications introduced the latest technology into the equipment used for roadside alcohol tests. A series of modifications led to creation of the digital alcohol test.
Still the present-day version of the roadside alcohol test was not based on some new physiology research. The present-day digital alcohol test relies on the same physiological phenomenon observed by Dr. Berkenstein. Dr. Berkenstein had noted the rapidity with which alcohol can enter the drinker’s body. He realized that that rapidity results from the way that the body absorbs alcohol. An appreciable amount of alcohol enters the bloodstream before any downed drink has left the stomach.
The quick absorption of alcohol has become a key factor in alcohol detection. The roadside alcohol test measures the extent of that absorption. A person who decides to consume alcohol and to then get behind the wheel should know that the rapidity of the absorption of alcohol varies from one person to the next.
The rate of that absorption can be controlled to a degree by the rate of alcohol consumption. The rate of the alcohol consumption can affect the BAC. Suppose, for example that someone decides to chug beer. His or her liver can metabolize only one-half ounce of alcohol per hour. If someone starts downing beer at a very rapid rate, then the consumed alcohol is not metabolized, and the beer-drinkers BAC rises rapidly.
Moreover, other factors can also affect a person’s BAC. Warm alcohol can enter the blood faster than cold alcohol. Men can neutralize alcohol better than women; they have more of the enzyme that catalyzes that neutralization. All of those factors can affect the results of a digital alcohol test.
defendant might feel that he or she had not been drinking long enough to develop the blood alcohol level obtained from the administered test. Here are a few explanations for any confused defendant.Dr. Robert Berkenstein, a former member of the Indiana State Police force, had studied the human physiology. His studies allowed him to invent the prototype for the present-day digital alcohol test. Dr. Berkenstein gave law enforcement officers a reason to alter their normal request of an erratic driver.
Before the appearance of the digital alcohol test, a suspected drunk driver might be asked to touch his or her nose with a pointed finger. Such a driver might be asked to walk in a straight line. After the development of the digital alcohol test, a law enforcement officer would ask a suspected drunk driver to take a deep breath. By taking a deep breath, that driver would allow air to reach his or her deep air sacs. Air in those air sacs could then pick-up any alcohol vapors from the blood stream.
If the person taking the deep breath had just had a drink, then the air in the deep air sacs would be proportional to his or her blood alcohol concentration (BAC).Dr. Berkenstein had been aware of that fact. His awareness of that fact had allowed him to see the value of a device that could detect and measure the amount of alcohol in a driver’s exhaled breath.
The invention produced by Dr. Berkenstein relied on a readout that lacked exact numbers. The instrument developed by Dr. Berkenstein had a dial much like the dial of a Geiger counter. A series of modifications introduced the latest technology into the equipment used for roadside alcohol tests. A series of modifications led to creation of the digital alcohol test.
Still the present-day version of the roadside alcohol test was not based on some new physiology research. The present-day digital alcohol test relies on the same physiological phenomenon observed by Dr. Berkenstein. Dr. Berkenstein had noted the rapidity with which alcohol can enter the drinker’s body. He realized that that rapidity results from the way that the body absorbs alcohol. An appreciable amount of alcohol enters the bloodstream before any downed drink has left the stomach.
The quick absorption of alcohol has become a key factor in alcohol detection. The roadside alcohol test measures the extent of that absorption. A person who decides to consume alcohol and to then get behind the wheel should know that the rapidity of the absorption of alcohol varies from one person to the next.
The rate of that absorption can be controlled to a degree by the rate of alcohol consumption. The rate of the alcohol consumption can affect the BAC. Suppose, for example that someone decides to chug beer. His or her liver can metabolize only one-half ounce of alcohol per hour. If someone starts downing beer at a very rapid rate, then the consumed alcohol is not metabolized, and the beer-drinkers BAC rises rapidly.
Moreover, other factors can also affect a person’s BAC. Warm alcohol can enter the blood faster than cold alcohol. Men can neutralize alcohol better than women; they have more of the enzyme that catalyzes that neutralization. All of those factors can affect the results of a digital alcohol test.
