OMG! What a waste of time & money. The officer that is at the scene is the 1 who decides if you need a breathalizer. End of story. If Rep. James Schatz, D-Blue Hill has 3 cases that had been questionable in the results, than he should be looking @ the law enforcement in that area. An impared driver is a big part of what they go to school to detect. It is a little late after someone has died. Alcohol should be ileagal. Yes, for the drunks, I know that drugs also cause impared drivers, this is why this wont work. Not all drugs can be detected.

Every officer should have a Breathalizer in their squad car. As an individual, you do not have to submit to the test, but it may be in your best interest to do so if you are not breaking the law. Two years ago in Veazie I was pulled over after 11pm coming back from a dinner party. The officer had me out on the road performing field sobriety tests for 35 minutes and was threatening to "ARREST" me. It was pure intimidation: he and I both knew I was sober but he kept me much longer than necessary. I offered to blow a PBT but he was quite happy to report that he did not have one. In retrospect, I believe he was bored and found that abusing his power over a younger woman was good sport.

Also consider that the most hardened drinkers can still function at a very high level when intoxicated. A PBT would take the guesswork out of an officer's evaluation.

I'm going to lay this out there. I found out recently after my OUI last year that Bangor PD inflated and didn't clean the mouthpiece when I blew. Knowing that this can usually bump it up .03-.05 % I had well below the limit.

I think reform needs to be done

We all know that Breathalizer accuracy can be faulty due to cleaning and/or calibration. Instead of requiring a PBT perhaps the law should be that anyone involved in an accident that has serious injury be required to go to the hospital from the scene and have a blood test. This would detect not only alcohol but also drugs. The cost may be higher, but it would definitely take the guesswork out of it and cut down on people getting away with a crime and then going out to do it again with possible fatal results.

How about a test for 'too much turkey'? It makes people awfully sleepy.

More crap from Dusgusta. By the way, how's the budget coming, folks?

It seems very simple... if you don't drink period you have nothing to worry about, should you get in an accident. If you do drink in moderation and can still make socially acceptable decisions, you have nothing to worry about. If you drink and can not make socially acceptable decisions, and it puts the health and safety of other human beings at risk, you have something more to worry about should this come to fruition. I find it an incredibly useful way to put taxpayer dollars to work at this time. IMHO

How about we as the public stop allowing the State to slowly take away our rights. Each and every year now Maine comes up with more laws to take away some more of our rights.

"How about we as the public stop allowing the State to slowly take away our rights. Each and every year now Maine comes up with more laws to take away some more of our rights."

Exactly!

What right does the state have enforcnig laws to keep people safe? If I want to down a bottle of Allen's and drive, well, gosh darn it, I should be able to!

We could start by having mandatory rehab for repeat offenders. As it is now, they lose their license, pay a fine, serve some time and get right back on the road. Addicts are not capable of making rational decisions. Jail does not help, it only worsens the underlying problems that created the addiction in the first place. I understand this problem more than most as I have had several addicts in my family. We need to treat the addiction, not just throw punishment at it.

My 16-year old was taken from a private home during an illegal entry and search. She was charged with possession by a minor. The charges were lodged becase she refused to take a Breathalyzer. The officer had brought four minors to the station. Two had breathalyzed before it was my daughter's turn. She had been cooperating because she had not been drinking. She had decided to stay at this house because one of the boys was vomiting and was passed out. She wanted to make sure he stayed on his side and would not drown in his own vomit. He was breathalyzed just before her turn and he had a very high reading. She and I stood there while the officer entered her name, birthdate etc and then he handed her the mouthpiece and explained how to take in a breath and exhale for the machine. All of a sudden she freaked out and ran from the room. She went outside to my car and just sat there. I returned to the station and explained that she had decided to exercise her right not to be breathalyzed. (there was no driving involved-let alone any accidents). The officer then handed me a summons, charging her with possession of alcohol by a minor.

At home she finally told me what was bothering her. The young man who breathalyzed just before her had been vomiting. She observed the mouthpiece and it was cloudy looking. The officer had not changed the mouthpiece in our presence (maybe not at all) and he was not wearing gloves.

If anyone is going to agree to a breathalyzer, be sure to ask the officer to change the mouthpiece in your presence and make sure he is wearing gloves. If he handles a used mouthpiece and then uses his bare hands to chang it, then there is a risk of cross contamination of not only alcohol but viral or bacterial infectious agents.

A correctly done bloodntest is a more reliable indicator. If you fail a breathalyzer and are released in a reasonable period, go directly to the hospital and have your blood checked. Make sure the date and time are documented on the vial of blood that is drawn. Call for a ride home, have a witness.

If you are going to submit to a field sobriety test, make them film it, or if you have the means, film it yourself. Always remain respectful to any officer who is working with you, no matter how irritating you find the situation.

We do need reform, kingofmaine, I agree. But we need NOT to erode our Constitutional rights too. Think about how old the Constitution really is and yet it is just as applicable today as it was the day it was drafted. Those on both sides of the table need to work together to draft laws that will work.

An accident is not probable cause for OUI testing. People who have hit their heads in an accident , or who are in shock, may well fail a fiels sobriety test. This is probable cause for a trip to the ER, not for illegal seizing of their blood.

On 2/5/09 at 08:57 AM, pcme2000 wrote:

"How about we as the public stop allowing the State to slowly take away our rights. Each and every year now Maine comes up with more laws to take away some more of our rights."

First and foremost though, its a privilige to drive. I don't have statistics to back it up but it would appear that more than enough people are being affected by drunk driving to assume that something needs to be done.... which most people would probably agree upon... and I don't personally think that mandatory testing for alcohol after someone has been seriously injured in an automobile accident is unreasonable given todays environment. I don't really see where the violation of rights (probably liberties in this case) comes from. I know people are wary of government but it seems like if we value human life and wellness as we ought to, prompt investigation of such incidents to the fullest extent possible seems like a good thing to me.

Maine needs more laws:

That is exactly why you elected the folks to go to Augusta.

What would have been wrong with bringing your daughter back into the station and asking them to change the mouthpiece. For someone to freak out like that and not tell you what it was until the next day, as a parent I would think there was something else up. You were there, but only your daughter will knows the real reason.

screwed last sentence up, should be "only your daughter will ever know the real reason"

Ever notice they (the State) taxes soda and never hard stuff.... wonder how many drink to much before getting behind the wheel.... tax that and it will pay for alot of budget problems...

Actually, the government in Maine directly controls the sale of distilled spirits. The revenue comes from Taxes, Fees and net liquor profits. So the State of Maine is actually getting quite a bit of revenue from liquor.

blow this

i didn't serve time at all... even the night i got arrested... i had to go to counseling and a 3 day weekend warrior course...

and I got rated 1 out of 5 for lowest amount of risk

They need to worry less about alcohol and start dealing with all the opiate addicts behind the wheel. That's the type of testing that needs to be put into place before they start worrying about mandatory blood alcohol and breathalizer testing.

No right to privacy when you are mobile! hello!!!!!!!

COMMUNITY SECURITY VS INDIVIDUAL AUTONOMY PICK ONE OH WAIT YOU CANT!

Underage drinking is a HUGE problem in Maine,

okay you get caught and get your license taken away for 60 days.

woohoo BIG punishment.

If they are going to focus more on DUI/drinking problems

they need to go to Castine where those MMA students are partying up every night.

Hmm. This smells curiously like a presumption of guilt!

Please support the Maine Civil Liberties Union in this one folks. All cops have the right, in accidents that were described here, if they believe alcohol to be a factor, to order a test. The Sec. of Stat's office said it best - there used to be a law and it was found unconstitutional. Hello Augusta!

Sounds like EastCoast has a grudge or some jealousy issues. Show me another college that is not doing the same thing.

kids at mma are getting killed though because they are driving drunk,

how many drunk driving cases have you heard from Umaine?

why would I be jealous of that?

I have never been on the receiving end of a OUI test so i could not honestly tell you what it is like, But I can tell you this as a husband and a parent I am all for what ever takes to keep my wife and children safe as they travel on Maine roads !

I say bring on more tests and road blocks every weekend all over the state, the more they test and stop the more drunks off the streets!

If you want more tests and road blocks - there are several countries you can live in that do not offer the same Constitutional safeguards as the United States (Syria, Iran, Russia, etc.). I would suggest trying out one of those and see how it compares to requirements like reasonable suspicion, Miranda, and probable cause.

Most of them that were killed were drinking in bars and driving back to MMA. Seems to be more news worthy because of the one dangerous road to get to MMA. unfortunately many other colleges have students dying in car accidents, they just don't get the same attention in the news.

movethen wrote:

What would have been wrong with bringing your daughter back into the station and asking them to change the mouthpiece. For someone to freak out like that and not tell you what it was until the next day, as a parent I would think there was something else up. You were there, but only your daughter will knows the real reason

My daughter did not wait until the next day. She told me after the summons had been issued and we were both in the car outside the police station. There would have been no point to having her breathalyzed since she got the summons anyway. That is a fine example of guilty until proven innocent.

She told me had not been drinking, and she breathed directly into my face. When I arrived at the police station the officer told me he did not believe she had been drinking. I ask why he had brought her in then and his response was that he did not think it was a safe situation for her. She has been honest when confronted about drinking and other behaviors. To the best of my knowledge, neither of my kids has ever lied to me. Their honesty has always been rewarded by reduced discipline.

Driving is, as someone pointed out, a privilege, not a right. Refusal to submit to a Breathlyzer will result in your license to suspended for 120 days. Maine DMV uses the legal theory that drivers have implied consent by signing the license application. That however, does not mean that we have to give up our constitional right to privacy, or search and seizure etc. A blood test is more invasive and is the collection of evidence, Evidence should only be collected if one, there is a crime and two, if an officer has probable cause to believe that person has committed the crime.

We get the same B.S. here in Arizona, the first question out of the officers mouth is, Have you been drinking? A greating of Hello, do you know why we pulled you over would be more like it. What a waste of good tax payer money.

My wife was almost killed last new years by a drunk driver. She was even bragging to one of her friends (and of course she did not get hurt) that she had been drinking and she was good at hiding it. It told the officer what I heard and still they did nothing. I think it should be manditory. Driving a car is not a right it is a privledge! My wife had to go through several surgeries on her legs and will most likely be in severe pain the rest of her life.

I hope they do past this law. It would have put someone in jail that should have been there instead of a loussy ticket for running a stop sign!

I thought it was mandatory that if there is a fatality or serious injuries due to an accident that either a breathalyzer, or blood test is done in order to find out the cause of the accident?

If not then it should be mandatory. I know of 2 accidents in the last month that defiantly involved alcohol where there was a fatality in both accidents.

I also know of accidents in the past that involved fatalities and the drivers were tested immediately and they got charged with involuntary manslaughter and are doing time in prison.

The officers saying that they don't have a balloon test in their cruisers are negligent ,because I was stopped one evening coming home from a funeral and the officer had me out of the car, made me do field sobriety tests for over a half hour, and then administered a balloon test he had in his cruiser.

I had not one drop of alcohol in my system and just because I had to drive 5 hours from a funeral, which placed me in the area I live in roughly around 12:00 midnight, I was pulled over for suspicion because it was late.

I think this is a "GREAT" idea.........will make people think twice before drinking and driving.........if you do not drink and drive.....there is nothing to worry about ...is there?

evasmith Go ahead move there as you know so much about them and report back to us HERE driving on OUR safe streets IF you DRINK and drive youve lost ALL your rights as far as i am concerned !

MIght as well test for pot too...and high cholesterol, cancers or anything life threatening that may have been an underlieing factor in the accident.

I don't think this bill will any impact of the number of impaired drivers on our roads. Every police vehicle and EMS vehile should be equipped with PBAs. A PBA is not calibrated and has a wider margin of error than the table top units in policestations.And you cannot test every single driver; some of them may be dead or dying. For those who are injured, a level .06 cannot tell investigtore how impaired a driver may have been

EastCoastB: the police in Castine are only on duty two nights a week and finish at midnight...the students do whatever they want on off duty nights and after midnight on the working nights. Its a free for all, atleast it was when I was there.