Roadside Breathalyzers Being Recalibrated

By Michelle Cyr-Whiting

Prince George, B.C. -  One-half of the roadside breathalyzers in use in Prince George have already been sent away to be re-calibrated in light of today's announcement by the B.C. Association of  Chiefs of Police that the warn level will be changed to eliminate the 'error factor' in readings.

The association has announced the Approved Screening Devices are being re-set to give a warning reading for a blood alcohol level of 0.06, instead of 0.05.  Although that 0.05 is still the limit set in legislation for a warn, Sergeant Pat McTiernan with Fraser-Fort George Traffic Services, says re-calibrating the devices to give a warn at 60 milligrams-percent will remove the argument that a person may actually be below the warn limit due to a faulty reading.

He says, "We've realized that every instrument -- whether it's radar or breathalyzer instruments or roadside screening devices -- they all have an error factor, so if we set the calibration of the roadside screening device at 50 milligrams-percent, there may be a couple of milligrams-percent there and someone may be able to say, 'You know, there was a possibility I was actually a little bit under.'"

McTiernan says the re-calibration will put police on a firmer footing, "Absolutely, at the end of the day, we were teetering with an error factor on the bounds of the legislation."   The sergeant says while that level has always been there, given the severity of the new sanctions -- which include three-, seven- and 30-day licence suspensions and vehicle impoundment -- the police want to instill public confidence.

"This will reinforce the fact that we're satisfied that we're not having to worry about error factors and the public can be satisfied that we've gone above and beyond what it takes to ensure that they're definitely over 50 milligrams-percent."

McTiernan says the manufacturer is changing a sensor in the screening devices for a minimal cost.  He says the first batch will be back to Prince George by next Wednesday.  The RCMP is staggering the send out because the devices can still be used for a fail.  And McTiernan emphasizes officers will still be issuing 24-hour driving prohibitions using the methods they`ve always used -- they just won`t be enacting the impound component while the devices are being re-calibrated.  He expects all devices in the province will be re-set in two to three weeks.

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