Quote:
Originally Posted by return to the red
I'm actually interested in how many people have actually seen a breathalyzer and one in use....not being intoxicated.
Having been on a few ride-alongs and witnessing the administration of them I think, judging from some of the responses, there are many posters that are not familiar of all the regulations and procedures that officers have to follow regarding them.
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I have never actually seen/used one but am aware of all the procedures that they have to go through. My concern is that those procedures are likely important to ensure that the sample/result is accurate. A lot of them likely developed after court cases were thrown out for one reason or another so they came up with a procedure to make sure that going forward the charges stuck.
Under the new system there are no more court cases so there is no method of questioning the accuracy and validity of their procedures. The fear is the procedures will become more lax and won't be followed as closely. We see that all the time in our industry where when you stop enforcing a procedure people become sloppy.
I also have a prediction that under the new system fewer charges of driving over 0.08 will be handed out because the burden of proof will be so much higher. It will be much easier to hand out the lesser penalty and avoid all the paperwork and possible court appearance.