At 07:54 PM 8/19/00 -0400, Bill Stewart wrote:
>
>Out of curiousity, does anybody know whether it detects ethanol itself
>or leftovers from metabolizing the ethanol?
Since you excrete ethanol through your breath, and its easy enough
to detect (colorimetric assays = reagents & photocell, possibly new
sensors these days), probably so.
Since the sensors *will* trigger if your passengers are reeking
(this was reported in the news article under a discussion of false alarms
and missed positives) yes it will trigger if you get ethanol applied
topically.
But the rest of the field exam would show you're sober, assuming you
don't slur or have ataxia, and you can explain conjunctivitis with pollen
or staring at a screen all day 8-)
