OFF THE WIRE
Jennifer Graham
The Canadian Press
REGINA—The Mounties are bringing in the next generation of breath-testing technology to help them get their man — or woman — who has been driving after drinking.
RCMP officers in Saskatchewan are training on the Intoximeter, which uses infrared and fuel-cell technologies.
Randy Prokopanko, the RCMP’s national breath test coordinator, said the Intoximeter should be the standard instrument used across Canada within the next year.
Prokopanko said the more commonly known breathalyzer is 1950s technology that hasn’t been used for many years. He says the force has used other, improved devices over the years, but everybody still calls the instruments breathalyzers.
With the holidays approaching, Prokopanko says people should be thinking about the effect that alcohol has on their ability to drive.
The new device uses infrared and fuel-cell technologies — an upgrade from old devices that used only infrared. The Intoximeter will be used when suspected drunk drivers are taken back to a police station, not at the roadside.
It can catch experienced drinkers who are otherwise good at masking symptoms of being drunk, said RCMP Cpl. Michael Benjamin.
“When we have seasoned drinkers, we have a problem where they’re able to mask the symptoms quite well,” he said.
