Breath Test Accuracy
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Have you ever wondered how a breath alcohol test works?
Now you can find out.
A breathalyzer test is used to determine a driver's blood alcohol content if they are pulled over on suspicion of driving under the influence. The driver blows into the breathalyzer apparatus and the test measures how much alcohol is in the breath. The measurement is then converted to determine how much alcohol is in the blood stream. A blood alcohol content of .08% or more will lead to a DUI arrest.
The accuracy of breathalyzer equipment more or less determines a suspect’s guilt or innocence at a trial. However, for many years the manufacturers of this equipment have refused to release any information on the machine’s source code, claiming they did not want to share any “trade secrets.”
Recent DUI cases in Florida, Minnesota, and other states have begun ordering the breathalyzer manufacturers to reveal the source code of their machines. Many judges tossed out DUI convictions, believing that if a machine determines someone’s guilt or innocence, they should have the right to investigate the accuracy, algorithms, and methods of the testing equipment. In New Jersey, the Supreme Court ordered one of the breathalyzer companies to reveal its source code. This code was then turned over to a technology company for analysis.
What the technology company’s report shows is surprising. Contrary to the breathalyzer manufacturer’s statements that the source code was proprietary, it was found that the code consisted mainly of general algorithms. The claim that this code was part of their trade secret was without merit.
The report also showed that the breath alcohol machine’s software would not pass U.S. industry standards for software development and testing. The software shows evidence of incomplete design and should be considered unreliable and untested. If the test was submitted, as is, for use by the U.S. Government or military, it would fail software standards.
The error detection on these machines was shown to be disabled. This means that the breathalyzer would appear to be working correctly, even if it was running invalid codes for a period of time.
In light of all of these problems, can we really trust a breath test to determine someone’s guilt or innocence?
