Alcohol and Speeding Focus of Transit Police Operation During December
Beginning last night (December 1) the Policía de Tránsito (traffic police) have begun their yearly battle against drunk driving and speeding, with traffic blocks and spot checks and 750 officials, almost the entire police force, will be on hand.

Alcohol and high speed are the two main causes of deaths of Costa Rican roads and during the holiday season, the situation gets worse, though numbers show a decrease in the number of deaths.

Figures released by Tránsito show that there were 251 deaths on the roads up to November, 38 less than the same period last year.

Transit police will focus their attention to areas of bars, like in Escazú, San Pedro and Heredia. In the past, police have blocked an entire road, including the autopista in Ezcazú, to ensure that every driver coming out of the bars will pass through the spot checks, which can include up to 50 officers.

Another concern and cause of many accidents, some fatal, are the traffic jams around malls and shopping centres.

Another focus for the Transit police is the use of "official" vehicles by public employees who are tempted to take out the 'company' car for their personal use.

And, in a change from the past, the Transit police will also operate spot checks during the day and submit drivers who are suspected of being inebriated, to a breathalyzer  test, according to Tránbsito sub-director, Huanelge Gutiérrez..

The holiday operation will cost the Transit police and additional ¢47 million colones (us$95.500 dollars).

The operation will run until January 2.

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Breathalyzers
Alcohol intoxication is legally defined by the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level. However, taking a blood sample in the field for later analysis in the laboratory is not practical or efficient for detaining drivers suspected of driving while impaired or driving under the influence. Urine tests for alcohol proved to be just as impractical in the field as blood sampling. What was needed was a way to measure something related to BAC without invading a suspect's body.

In the 1940s, breath alcohol testing devices were first developed for use by police in the United States. In 1954, Dr. Robert Borkenstein of the Indiana State Police invented the Breathalyzer, one type of breath alcohol testing device used by law enforcement agencies today.

Principle of Testing
Alcohol that a person drinks shows up in the breath because it gets absorbed from the mouth, throat, stomach and intestines into the bloodstream.

Alcohol is not digested upon absorption, nor chemically changed in the bloodstream. As the blood goes through the lungs, some of the alcohol moves across the membranes of the lung's air sacs (alveoli) into the air, because alcohol will evaporate from a solution -- that is, it is volatile. The concentration of the alcohol in the alveolar air is related to the concentration of the alcohol in the blood. As the alcohol in the alveolar air is exhaled, it can be detected by the breath alcohol testing device. Instead of having to draw a driver's blood to test his alcohol level, an officer can test the driver's breath on the spot and instantly know if there is a reason to arrest the driver.

Because the alcohol concentration in the breath is related to that in the blood, you can figure the BAC by measuring alcohol on the breath. The ratio of breath alcohol to blood alcohol is 2,100:1. This means that 2,100 milliliters (ml) of alveolar air will contain the same amount of alcohol as 1 ml of blood.

There are several different devices used for measuring BAC.