New Passive Breathalyzer Test Distance Drivers
January 14, 2014Back to News Room
During a routine traffic stop, the officer approaches the vehicle and waves the device near the driver. The new passive breathalyzer Alcoscan used by DMV Brasilia can identify the presence of alcohol in the air. The lights on the device indicate whether or not there is the presence of alcohol in the environment. According to the DMV, this device makes routine inspections faster and easier.
“If he has not drunk alcohol it will be released a lot faster. The breathalyzer until he was in his own vehicle. Then gives the approach speed, “says Lahm Lucio traffic agent. In about 15 seconds screening is performed and the agent can then focus on monitoring the drivers most likely consumed alcohol.
The ALCOSCAN does not provide evidential results, but only indicates the presence of alcohol within the environment. If alcohol is found to be present, then the driver is asked to leave the vehicle and perform a traditional sobriety test.
The DMV Brasil started to use passive breathalyzers in July 2013 and, according to figures collected by the DMV itself, the number of fines for drunkenness nearly doubled: from 709 in the second half of 2012 to 1,352 in the same period last year.
According to the director of the DMV Traffic Surveillance-DF, Luiz Carlos Souto, the Alcoscan “is another tool that we put in there to try to convince these people that the risk of driving after drinking alcohol is high.”
Click this link to watch raw Globo Alcoscan on the streets of Brasil.