Accuracy of new alcohol monitor hard to beat
Accuracy of new alcohol monitor hard to beat
By ALLAN TINKER
A pilot program in the South Central Judicial District for three years and now state-wide has resulted in a new level of monitoring repeat offenders. The offenders may be monitored after a second offense of driving while intoxicated and need not be convicted of the offense to require the device be placed.
The ankle-mounted device is the SRAM by Alcohol Monitoring Systems. It is a trans-dermal method of testing and very expensive, said Sheridan County Sheriff Trent Naser. The SRAM was dispensed at a minimum of two per county, with a cost of $2,400 per device made possible through state dollars and grant money.
The device has a secure clip and is broken if removed and contains a photo cell and sensors for temperature, infra-red, and alcohol.
Naser explained that an air chamber samples the gases and tests; the device stores a day’s data or more and can be read by the transmitter from within 100 feet. The offender must be close to the transmitter at set times, and the data is sent to Denver which alerts law enforcement if there has been a “drinking event.”
