Field Performance of the Intoxilyzer 5000: A Comparison of Blood- and Breath-Alcohol Results in Wisconsin Drivers

• NCJ Number: 125655
• Journal: Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 35 Issue: 5 Dated: (September 1990) Pages: 1022-1028
• Author(s): P M Harding; R H Laessig; P H Field
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 7 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Test/Measurement
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Intoxilyzer 5000 and blood-alcohol results from drivers arrested for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and for related offenses were compared during a 2-year period. Three hundred and ninety-five pairs of results were studied.

Abstract

The breath- and blood-alcohol specimens in this study were collected within one hour of each other. The mean blood alcohol concentration obtained was 0.180 gram/deciliter (g/dl), with a range from zero to 0.338 g/dl. By comparison, the mean Intoxilyzer 5000 result was 0.16 g/dl with a range from zero to 0.32 g/210 liter. Compared with the blood-alcohol result Intoxilyzer 5000 results were lower by more than 0.01 g/210 1 67 percent of the time, within 0.01 g/210 1 32 percent of the time, and higher by more than 0.01 g/210 1 2 percent of the time. 2 figures, 1 table, and 17 references. (Author abstract)