Are Breath Tests Accurate? The NH View.

I recently wrote an opinion piece that was published by the Caledonian Record on November 7, 2019 focusing on breath testing accuracy in NH. 

It is important to understand that CMI, Inc. not only refuses to provide information to a defense lawyer but also ignored requests for information from the NY Times reporters.

Breath Testing is it Accurate, Reliable and Precise? NY Times Takes it up.

Breath Testing is widely used in United States and in NH.  In fact NH has recently spent millions to update the breath machines it uses to convict drunk drivers.  The new machine used in NH is called the Intoxiylzer 9000 pictured below, made by a company called CMI.  CMI and the State of NH refuse to provide schematics of the machine or allow defense lawyers and their experts to test the accuracy, precision or reliability.  



The title of the Times series is illustrative of the power of a breath test, but should we trust the results without the actual technical specifications?  Would you believe a number generated by a machine that the operator and manufacturer refuse to share its range of uncertainty? 

  The New York Times has recently created a weekly TV series to determine if breath testing should be trusted.  Episode 18: Guilty by Machine.