New Breathalyzer Unit Goes in Use Tonight
Today is the day for the "big game" - the annual classic confrontation between the Deportivo Saprissa and the Liga Deportiva Alajuelense. For the IInstituto Nacional de Seguros (INS) and the Policía de Tránsito, it will be a big day as well.

Tonight, sports fans will be first to confront the new alcohol testing equipment (breathalyzer) purchased by the INS and to be used by Tránsito officials, as the first 100 units go into use.

Sporting fans attending events are known for their consumption of alcohol during the game and then getting behind the wheel to drive home.

In an effort to curb traffic fatalities from drinking and driving, the INS purchased the small handheld units to combat the problem.

According to Huanelge Gutiérrez, sub-director of the Policía de Tránsito, the new units are small and are complicated to use.

The first 100 units will be in use tonight, primarily in the roads leading into and from Tibás, in the area around the Saprissa stadium and other locations near and around bars where sports fans gather to watch the game on the big screen televisions.

Tránsito officials can take an exact reading of the alcohol content in the blood without requiring the driver to leave the vehicle. A driver who is suspected of driving under the influence will be asked to breathe into the apparatus, which will provide an instant reading and small printer incorporated in the unit will provide the physical evidence of the test.

A driver who is over the limit will be fined and/or confiscate the drivers license and/or have his vehicle impounded.

Guillermo Constenla, president of the INS, explained that units cost the institution some ¢3 million colones (us$5.800 dollars), which the INS is donating to the Policía de Tránsito to reduce the number of accidents on the roads.

The cost is part of an INS investment of ¢242 million colones for its campaign against drinking and driving, following statistics that proves that the consumption of alcohol and driving have become a deadly mixture.

This year, to date, 310 people have lost their lives in traffic accidents, 32 more than the same period for 2005. Drinking and driving and speeding are the top two cases.