Dekalb DUI and the Intoxilyzer 5000
Posted on Feb 20, 2011 2:45pm PST
TheIntoxilyzer 5000 is one of the most commonly used breath machines in the United States. It is used for DUI testing in
DeKalb County, Georgia as well as all over the country but it isn't very good. You may be surprised to know is it's not accurate and not even specific to alcohol.
1) The Intoxilyzer does not accurately report alcohol concentrations. For example, an Intoxilyzer test result of .08 does not actually mean an alcohol concentration of .08.
2) Many scientific safeguards that are supposed to ensure that Intoxilyzer 5000 results are valid and reliable simply don't work. This includes some shocking discoveries, including the fact that the Intoxilyzer 5000 just can't properly measure breath volume, despite claims to the contrary. The Intoxilyzer 5000 also reports the presence of alcohol when a totally "clean" air sample is provided. Basic safeguards, like the ability to detect interfering substances (non-alcohol substances that show up as alcohol), the ability to detect radio frequency interference, and various "self-tests" all fail to work as advertised.
3) Essential components of the breath testing machine can be disabled without sending up any red flags. This includes heating elements and interfering substances detectors that are essential to providing consistent, reliable results.
4) The "slope detector" looks to be as faulty as expected. Many folks are being charged with refusing because source code errors are reporting otherwise valid samples as "deficient."
Many other flaws have been exposed, which leads one to ask: Can this machine be trusted to ensure that Georgia roads remain safe, or is it just a random number generator to send innocent people to jail?
Call the Law Offices of Richard S Lawson immediately if you have been arrested because of a faulty breath test in DeKalb County.