Portable Breath Test Unit (PBT)

[roseboys3]

My department is looking into purchasing some PBT unit's and we're looking at what's out their. Right now, the one that is being considered is the CMI Intoxilyzer SD-5.

Does anyone have experience with this unit? I've used the Alco Sensor unit's in the past, but they're a bit more pricy. Both these units are DOT Approved, so i'm sure both work fine, but actual field experiences with the SD-5 unit is what i'm looking for?

THANKS FOR THE INFO!!!

[10-7Alpha]

My department is looking into purchasing some PBT unit's and we're looking at what's out their. Right now, the one that is being considered is the CMI Intoxilyzer SD-5.

Does anyone have experience with this unit? I've used the Alco Sensor unit's in the past, but they're a bit more pricy. Both these units are DOT Approved, so i'm sure both work fine, but actual field experiences with the SD-5 unit is what i'm looking for?

THANKS FOR THE INFO!!!

Na, I always refuse the field testing units and just take the ride to the station for the real one before getting booked. The ride in might give me enough time to not blow hot.

[Irishluck31]

We used the Alco Sensor for years. I liked it, but it takes time to clear out and if you have a party with 30 drunk juveniles its gets annoying even with 5 or 6 machines.

Michigan switched to the Lifeloc Inc machines. I really like those. Reset immediately and easy to use. I dont know anything about CMI, but you get what you pay for when it comes to this stuff.

Our Alco Sensor machines still work. We got them brand new in 1995 or 1996. The Lifeloc machines are durable. I have dropped them, kicked them across the parking lot, hand them knocked out of my hand. They stand up to a lot before they need to be duct taped. Easy to calibrate as well. Not as easy as the Alco Sensor, but still very easy.

[WHC166]

We use the Intoximeter Alco IV. It is a little pricey but clears immediately and is very reliable.

[Bushranger]

We use a hand held Lion Alcometer for roadside breath tests and the Lion Intoxilyzer to obtain the grubs' true breath alcohol reading. As far as cost goes, who cares because the State government pays for them.

[reils49]

The Drager Alcotest 6810 is pretty sweet. This unit is also NHTSA approved as an Evidential Breath Tester and is simple to use. I just got one assigned to my troop car, and it works like a charm. Before this, I had one of the old school alco sensor's which sucked.

[nonickname69]

PBT actually stands for preliminary breath test. It's not to be considered 100% and can't be used in lieu of an actual blood test or intoxlizer type breath testing machine.

[Smackzone116]

..........

[op_06]

How accurate are the PBT's? My agency does not use them. I was out with a troop a few weeks ago watching him conduct SFSTs. Driver fails miserably. Troop pulls out the PBT, and the reading is somewhere around the .11-.12 range. Troop thinks about the arrest decision for awhile, stating that the PBT's are not that accurate. I was thoroughly confused.

[roseboys3]

typically, very accurate. More often than not, the officer should have just about made their determination as to if an arrest would be made BEFORE breaking out the pbt. I've only used them when the person seems "on the edge" and never used one as a decision maker as to if i'd make an arrest. The other thing as well is the officer doesn't know if the person is going up or down on their BAC. Most of the time, the person will actually test higher at the station as they were still going up when the PBT field test was performed. I'd be surprised that after the tests they wouldn't have hooked up someone at .11-.12 as that's a solid arrest, but again, many factors to consider-

[PeteBroccolo]

In Canada, such items are called Approved Screening Devices, and we can only use ones which are on the ASD Order of our Federal Criminal Code (which applies Canada-wide, and is enforced by Provinces and Municipalities). The ASD I have used since 1994 is the Drager Alcotest 7410 GLC. An ASD can only be used if it has been annually re-certified by Drager that it is functioning properly AND if it has been re-calibrated, or its calibration has been confirmed, within the past 15 days before use. Only Qualified Technicians of Approved Breath Analysis Instruments for the Province in which we work are allowed to re-calibrate / check the calibration of ASD. ABAI QT have to pass a very rigourous course up here being declared qualified. The Alcotest 7410 GLC is factory calibrated to show "A", or alert us that the "client's" BAC is high enough to require them to have their DL suspended, at 50% of what a QT calibrates them to show an "F", or failure, at. We calibrate these ASD to "F" at 100 mg%, as the Canadian BAC criminal level is 80 mg%. Saskatchewan law provides for DL suspension of at least 24 hrs for experienced drivers for "A", or at least 30 days if BAC > 0 for inexperienced drivers or those with restrictions due to previous suspensions. I would recommend the 7410 GLC.

[SgtScott31]

How accurate are the PBT's? My agency does not use them. I was out with a troop a few weeks ago watching him conduct SFSTs. Driver fails miserably. Troop pulls out the PBT, and the reading is somewhere around the .11-.12 range. Troop thinks about the arrest decision for awhile, stating that the PBT's are not that accurate. I was thoroughly confused.

His decision to arrest should have been well before breaking out the PBT. The PBT is not an evidentiary test and is just used to help establish PC just as the FSTs are. I think there might be a handful of agencies in all of TN that even use them. Your three phases of DUI detection per the NHTSA class are plenty to establish PC for a DUI arrest if you know what you're doing (and how to articulate it). What if the driver refused PBT and the evidentiary test? That's why one should be squared away on the administration of FSTs and other aspects of DUI detection.

[ilparkcop]

i try to use a pbt every time i run a person through FST's, although in illinois a driver must give consent. i don't know the exact brand/model # off hand that we use - you insert a mouth piece into the unit hit the "set" button, the blank registers .000 and then it tells you "test." the driver has to put their lips around the mouthpiece and blow into the unit until it clicks.

as far as the purpose of pbt's - they serve two purposes 1) to help establish probable cause for a DUI arrest, and 2) to screen out drugs as a source of observed impairment (i.e., it tells you whether blood/urine testing will be necessary from a driver who has exhibited multiple indicators of impairment from FST's). for example, a person could be impaired as a result of a controlled substance and end up blowing .000 on a breath test - the PBT will tell you whether or not alcohol is the source of the impairment you observed.

[Badgerland]

How accurate are the PBT's? My agency does not use them. I was out with a troop a few weeks ago watching him conduct SFSTs. Driver fails miserably. Troop pulls out the PBT, and the reading is somewhere around the .11-.12 range. Troop thinks about the arrest decision for awhile, stating that the PBT's are not that accurate. I was thoroughly confused.

Many older PBT units do not have safeguards against mouth alcohol, so many times you will get a higher reading than when you administer the Intoximeter or blood draw.

[ilparkcop]

Many older PBT units do not have safeguards against mouth alcohol, so many times you will get a higher reading than when you administer the Intoximeter or blood draw.

that's generally been my experience as well (i.e., pbt comes in higher than the RBT/intoximeter), but it also depends if they're on the way up or down in addition to the time lag between the pbt and the actual (admissible) breath test.

if someone fails the fst's miserably and comes in the .11-.12 range on the pbt they're getting hooked if i'm the one administering the test - i wouldn't need to think about it for a second.