Judge Defends His Decision To
Let Drunk Driver Free
Drivers caught under the influence of
alcohol have a new ally, the criminal court
judges that defy the work of the Policía de
Tránsito in taking drunk drivers off the
roads.
It may not be the policy of all the judges,
but one in particular, judge Carlos Chávez,
has come out publicly to defend his decision
to let free a drunk driver who test with a
1.63 blood alcohol content.
The judge says that the roadside
breathalyzer tests cannot be relied on, as
they are not accurate enough and/or lack
proper calibration and have a margin or
error up to 25% or more from results of
blood tests.
Judge Chávez cites problems in Europe using
the breathalyzer sensor.
A Telenoticias report on Monday's noon news
report proved that the breathalyzers are
reliable. The report took a breathalyzer
sample of a test subject who had knocked
down five shots of whiskey 20 minutes before
having a Tránsito official take a reading
with an official breathalyzer.
The result indicated a 1.32 reading.
Twenty minutes later, the same test subject
had is blood tested at the Clinica Biblica
in downtown San José which resulted in a
reading o 1.36.
The Policía de Tránsito assure that the 200
breathalyzer units used by the police force
are reliable and are calibrated and checked
at least once every three months.
When it comes to jailing drunk drivers, as
provided in the new Ley de Tránsito, whose
drunk driving provisions went into effect on
December 23, 2008, the numbers speak for
themselves.
Of the some 3.500 drivers caught by traffic
police for being over the legal limit, only
17 - yes, 17, have been sentenced to jail by
the Tribunales de Flagrancia.
In addition, none of the 17 have had to
spend time in jail.
According to judge David Hernández, the
majority of drivers accept alternatives to
jail to complete their sentence of up to
three years.
Many of the sentenced drivers have chosen to
do community work and pay a fine, to which
the judges have openly accepted.
The director of the Policía de Tránsito,
German Marín, was diplomatic in his
position, saying that like in all ther
situations where there is a jail term in
play, it is understandable that there is a
conciliation process allowed. |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
