Lawyer says roadside breathalyzers don’t work
Posted December 26, 2011 6:49 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – A Vancouver lawyer has obtained a stack of BC police documents that he claims undermines the accuracy of breathalyzers used to hand out tough roadside punishment.
Paul Doroshenko says service and repair documents for about 100 screening devices prove they aren’t accurate enough for police to issue immediate roadside suspensions.
In one example, he says a sober Abbotsford Police officer blew into the device, registered a fail and it was taken out of service.
Doroshenko says police should be alerting the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles if they find problems with any device because it could have been used to take people off the road. Solicitor General Shirley Bond says the devices are considered highly accurate.
A BC judge recently struck down the government’s tough new drunk driving law connected with those who blow over .08. That ruling was suspended for six months, giving the provincial government a chance to rewrite the law.
