<story><title>Researchers say a breathalyzer has flaws, casting doubt on countless convictions</title><url>https://www.zdnet.com/article/draeger-breathalyzer-breath-test-convictions/</url></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>stochastic_monk</author><text>This is a feature, not a bug.&lt;p&gt;In fact, many jurisdictions have requirements that, above a breathalyzer-reported BAC threshold, different minimum mandatory punishments are levied. Sure, a sober person won&amp;#x27;t get a result that&amp;#x27;s above the legal limit most of the time, but someone who&amp;#x27;s done some drinking and is within appropriate parameters is often labeled as DUI, and could potentially register as above this higher, mandatory-jailtime, mandatory-felony situation.&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#x27;ve known of cases where the breathalyzer in question has been shown to be broken and decommissioned, yet the people whose numbers were so wildly inflated that they couldn&amp;#x27;t possibly be accurate have still been convicted using these numbers.&lt;p&gt;In one case in particular, the judge ruled that the evidence on the unreliability of the machines in general (and &lt;i&gt;this&lt;/i&gt; machine in particular) was not admissible for court.&lt;p&gt;It&amp;#x27;s about punishment, not deterrence.</text></comment>
<story><title>Researchers say a breathalyzer has flaws, casting doubt on countless convictions</title><url>https://www.zdnet.com/article/draeger-breathalyzer-breath-test-convictions/</url></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>thaumaturgy</author><text>It doesn&amp;#x27;t look like this is an error that will cause a totally sober person to fail a breathalyzer test. If you&amp;#x27;re worried about the accuracy of the machine, you can also submit to a blood test: &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;duilawyerlosangeles.com&amp;#x2F;dui-lawyer-advice-breathalyzer-vs-blood-test&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;duilawyerlosangeles.com&amp;#x2F;dui-lawyer-advice-breathalyz...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;This is one issue where I&amp;#x27;m firmly on the side of the police until there&amp;#x27;s evidence that faulty breathalyzers are putting totally innocent people in jail. If you choose to get into the driver&amp;#x27;s seat of a car, you should not be anywhere near the legal BAC limit. By the time an officer asks you to submit to a BAC test, they&amp;#x27;ve already observed enough behavior to make them believe that you may be a danger to others.&lt;p&gt;Plan ahead so that you don&amp;#x27;t have to worry about leaving your car somewhere. Call an Uber or a Lyft. Get a friend to drive you home. Moderate your drinking. Take some time, go for a long walk. On popular holidays in many places, you can even call AAA for a free ride home, even if you&amp;#x27;re not a member.&lt;p&gt;Just please don&amp;#x27;t drive home on the hope that a defense lawyer can argue on your behalf that breathalyzers aren&amp;#x27;t reliable.</text></comment>