QUOTE:Minister Rohee, when asked whether the breathalyzer can be administered to someone who was observed leaving a night spot and entering a vehicle, said the vehicle has to be moving before the Police can detain the driver and take the person to a station. Rohee said if the breathalyzer is administered otherwise, the Police can lose a lot of cases.

MINISTER of Home Affairs, Mr. Clement Rohee, in a recent pronouncement, said the breathalyzer test can only be done after a motor vehicle driver is detained and taken to a Police station.

“The breathalyzer is not something you can walk around with like a camera. It has to be based at a Police station,” he pointed out.

Rohee declared he is not aware of policemen being authorised to walk around with breathalyzers like how they carry radar guns.

He said, firstly, the Police must arrest a person and take the individual to the nearest station where the breathalyzer test is applied.

Rohee maintained that the proper procedure is to use the instrument at a Police station and not on the road.

He said it is difficult to use a breathalyzer like a radar gun, which checks the speed at which a vehicle is moving and complements the breathalyzer that makes an analysis of alcohol by the breath.

Rohee said blood alcohol level can also be determined but the breathalyzer cannot be used in a proactive way.

Asked whether the breathalyzer can be administered to someone who was observed leaving a night spot and entering a vehicle, he said the vehicle has to be moving before the Police can detain the driver and take the person to a station.

Rohee said if the breathalyzer is administered otherwise, the Police can lose a lot of cases.

Meanwhile, Deputy Superintendent John Daniels, from Police ‘A’ Division, told the Guyana Chronicle yesterday that only personnel who were trained in its use are allowed to apply the breathalyzer to suspected defaulters.

He said, since its introduction, Police traffic departments countrywide have seen a reduction in the number of drinking and driving cases.

Daniels said persons are not being targeted but, if the Police detect that someone might be under the influence of alcohol, the person can be apprehended and taken to a station where the breathalyzer test is applied.

He said, under certain circumstances, the Police if going to patrol an area where persons would be drinking alcohol excessively, they can take the breathalyzer where tests can be applied randomly.

Daniels said if a driver is found with above the 35 microgrammes alcohol level and the breathalyzer is administered, he or she will be prosecuted.