When the police place a suspect under arrest on suspicion of drunk driving, they will likely tell the suspect that they must take a breath test to determine if their blood alcohol level is above the limit. This machine is what most people still refer to as a Breathalyzer.
This is actually the brand name of alcohol breath testing machine that was developed in the 1950s and used for a number of years. Basically, this is an old trademark that has become a generic term for alcohol breath testing machine. These days, police forces are much more likely to use a machine made by CMI called the Intoxilyzer, a machine made by Draeger, or an Intoximiter EC/IR II. The Broward County Sheriff’s Office, for example, uses the Intoxilyzer 8000. This is part of their Breath and Alcohol Testing (BAT) Unit. Continue reading