California IN BRIEF : SACRAMENTO : CHP Field Devices to Test Sobriety

The California Highway Patrol is giving its officers a device enabling them to make a preliminary judgment about whether a driver has had too much to drink. Manufactured by Intoximeters Inc. of St. Louis, the 800 Alcosensor III devices distributed to CHP offices this month will provide digital readouts of the blood-alcohol level in drivers’ systems. CHP Commissioner Maury Hannigan said officers will ask motorists to blow into the preliminary alcohol screening devices on a voluntary basis if they are stopped on suspicion of drunk driving but have not been arrested. They can be arrested, however, if the readouts show blood-alcohol levels at or above the legal standard of .08%.