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New technology gives DUI cops more time to catch drunk drivers

New breath alcohol testing devices will streamline the DUI arrest process

By Lila Fujimoto 3 min read

KIHEI -- Police expect to spend more time enforcing DUI laws and less time documenting the arrests, with the purchase of six new breath alcohol testing instruments.

The Intoxilyzer 9000s are the newest on the market and will replace Intoxilyzer 8000 models that police have used since May 2015, said DUI Task Force Sgt. Nick Krau.

"It's actually going to save officers time with their report-writing and documenting of these tests, so we can get our officers back on the road faster and increase the enforcement time," Krau said.

Instead of a keyboard, the Intoxilyzer 9000 has a touch screen that makes it easier to use, said Toby Dyas, program support manager for manufacturer CMI Inc. He said data entry is easier, with some Maui Police Department forms incorporated in the software so the device will generate the reports that now are typed by officers.

The new model has the same requirements for accuracy and precision, said Dyas, who led a two-day training course Monday and Tuesday at the Kihei Police Station.

Twelve officers, including ones from Hana, Molokai and Lanai, completed the course. "They will train officers on the street," Dyas said.

A $63,000 grant through the state Department of Transportation paid for the Intoxilyzers. Krau is writing policy and operating procedures, which will be sent to the state Department of Health for review before other officers are trained and begin using the new models.

"We're hoping to put them on line by the summer," said Lt. William Hankins, commander of the police Traffic Section. "The idea is to keep DUI officers on the road as much as possible."

Given the option of taking a blood or breath test, the majority of people arrested on suspicion of drunken driving choose the breath test, which is administered using the Intoxilyzer, Krau said.

"It's a very noninvasive way of testing someone's blood-alcohol content," Krau said. "You simply blow into the instrument."

Each of the six police stations in Maui County has an Intoxilyzer.

On busy weekends, the device might be used up to 10 times a night, Krau said.

With MPD forms integrated into the software and printed directly from the Intoxilyzer, typographical and other errors will be eliminated, Krau said.

"The technology is still the same as far as how it analyzes breath readings," Hankins said. "It just makes it easier for the officers. Everything's going to be faster."

He said the Intoxilyzer doesn't allow an officer to incorrectly administer a test. "If anything goes wrong, as rare as it is, it shuts itself off," Hankins said.

He said the newest model also will reprint reports.

While officers administer preliminary breath tests in the field, "this is the one that's admissible in court," Hankins said.

Dyas said the Intoxilyzer 9000 is used in 15 states and by the military. The Honolulu Police Department is also moving toward using the new model, he said.

MPD will be the first department in the state to complete a total transition to the Intoxilyzer 9000, Krau said.

"We always strive to have the most updated technology possible for our officers and our community," Krau said. "It will allow us to get our officers back on the road faster."

* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.

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