Pennsylvania State Police Resume Breathalyzer Testing

Filed under: DUI by Contributor @ April 29, 2013

Last January, we wrote a blog about how a Dauphin County Judge ruled that readings from the Intoxilyzer 5000EN were inadmissible because, among other reasons, the breathalyzer’s manufacturer (CMI) is not allowed to make the simulator solution that calibrates the machine, per Pennsylvania state regulations. As a result of this and subsequent rulings, the Pennsylvania State Police announced that they had switched to using blood tests instead of breath tests at the police station to determine a driver’s BAC.

This past week Pennsylvania State Police at the Skippack barracks tested one of our clients on a breathalyzer. We thought that information might be wrong, but have since learned that the state police have announced that they have resumed usage of their breathalyzers using a simulator solution manufactured by a company other than CMI (the maker of the machines). Now, a Harrisburg-based company, Guth Laboratories, is making the simulator solutions, but not without controversy. Guth Laboratories, by its own admission, a) is not an accredited laboratory, b) is not proficiency tested, and c) does not adhere to international guidelines for making these simulator solutions. The scientific validity of Guth Laboratories’ simulator solution will be decided later this year in Commonwealth v. Rosario.  Here is the link to read more about breath testing and DUI . If you have been charged with a DUI, contact us to speak to a Montgomery County DUI lawyer today.

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