CONTROLLED DRINKING EXPERIMENTS: THE KEY TO UNDERSTANDING BLOOD ALCOHOL LEVELS

A factor that often reduces the value of B.A.C.s is the inability of people outside police ranks to fully comprehend blood alcohol levels in terms of the amount of alcohol consumed. Jurors can be told what the law says, and can read charts and articles on drinking limits, but when a persuasive defendant insists he wasn't drunk, the juror without a thorough understanding of B.A.C.s may be convinced he's innocent. One of the best ways to educate judges, prosecutors, police and the public is through controlled drinking experiments. One such experiment recently conducted demonstrates the impact of such a project. A local district attorney and two judges were the principle participants in a controlled drinking experiment conducted at the center for Highway Safety at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). The experiment was intended to familiarize these important individuals and the other participants with the relationship of alcohol consumed to blood alcohol content, as well as the reliability and validity of the testing procedures. The experiment was conducted as part of a law enforcement course in DUI/DWI instructor training.

• Corporate Authors:

  International Association of Chiefs of Police

  11 Firstfield Road
  Gaithersburg, MD  United States  20760
• Authors:
  • Bogan, J
• Publication Date: 1985-7

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 73
• Serial:
  • POLICE CHIEF
  • Volume: 52
  • Issue Number: 7

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alcohol use; Blood alcohol levels; Experiments; Publicity
• Uncontrolled Terms: Relationships
• Old TRIS Terms: Control conditions
• Subject Areas: Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00451753
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-039 043
• Files: HSL, USDOT
• Created Date: Dec 31 1985 12:00AM