These kinds of machines have been used for decades to collect evidence that is used in court proceedings ... and to send others on their way.
One Vancouver lawyer claims the machines are “notoriously” faulty ... even after 2,000 of the machines were taken out of service in B.C. for recalibration.
Paul Doroshenko says documents he got under the access to information showed 100 of the devices have accuracy problems — and these are documents from police forces.
Among the problems found with screening devices in our westernmost province was that they can be unreliable in the cold, with a RCMP document indicating the units can only be used if they are kept between temperatures of 10 and 40 C.
Police are also expected to calibrate the machines every 30 days.
Those accuracy questions should be of concern to every driver in Canada, not just in British Columbia.
It’s bad enough that some innocent people may have been convicted with inaccurate reading from the machines ... it’s even more worrying that drunk drivers may have been set free and sent on their way because the machine they blew into was wonky.
The least citizens can expect is that police have the proper equipment to do their jobs and these machines are getting the maintenence they require.
It makes one wonder how these portable breathalyzers work in this province. Are they any more dependable than those in B.C.?
It should give drivers pause to think and worry ... and police forces a reason to change the way they do business.
