Reader’s Question:

What is the reliability of the breath test in Alaska?

George

Anchorage, AK

There is much debate on the breathalyzer in Alaska. Believers say that the breathalyzer will only read light absorbed by alcohol, while opponents state the machine often misreads other normally found substances in the breath as alcohol, thus giving an inaccurate high reading.

Neither the Department of Public Safety of Bryan nor the manufacturer of the machine will let anyone else other than the law enforcement to test the machine for its accuracy and reliability. It is normally understood that for a procedure to be accepted as accurate and reliable in science, it must be open and available for the scientists to test and retest the procedure. This is not permitted with this machine.

The maker of the machine does not give any warranty of the breathalyzer. It also does not give any warranty for the accuracy and reliability of breath testing. The breathalyzer is able to preserve breath samples, but the department of public safety does not preserve these samples. The cost of preserving breath samples is cheap and would allow arrested persons the opportunity to have their breath samples checked for accuracy. If found to be inaccurate, this could prevent an innocent person from being unfairly convicted. Additional re-testing of the breath sample could be done by a method known as gas chromatography. This method is more accurate and reliable method of testing breath samples for alcohol than the breathalyzer.