03 November

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What Is A Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Test?

What is the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Test? Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant affecting many of the higher as well as lower motor control systems of the body. This results in poor motor coordination, sluggish reflexes, and emotional instability. The part of the nervous system that fine-tunes and controls hand movements and body posture also controls eye movements. When intoxicated, a person's nervous system will display a breakdown in the smooth and accurate control of eye movements. This breakdown in the smooth control of eye movement may result in the inability to hold the eyes steady, resulting in a number...

13 June

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Laser DUI Detectors Being Developed

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Process

Laser DUI detectors are on the way! Imagine driving down the street and having a police laser passively check your car for alcohol vapors. According to the Huffington Post, scientists at the Military University of Technology in Warsaw, successfully tested the device by aiming its laser at a car passing by at a distance of up to 20 meters. The car's interior had been filled with alcohol vapor, simulating the exhalations of a drinker inside the car.If this technology is successful, the laser DUI devices could be employed much like red-light cameras or used by stationary police like radar speed...

14 October

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DUI Science: Gas Chromatography

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Process

Gas chromatography mass spectrometry (hereinafter GCMS) is the most reliable method for alcohol testing in blood and urine and has become the accepted gold standard in forensic toxicology. Gas chromatography specificity for ethanol (drinking alcohol) is very good and this method can also identify and quantify other organic or interfering substances such as methanol and isopropanol. The two commonly used techniques for analyzing the gases are “direct injection” and “headspace analysis.” The devise works by utilizing a flow-through tube known as the column. The different chemicals in the sample pass via a gas stream at different rates depending on their interaction with the column’s...

16 September

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Drugged Driving: Roadside Saliva Tests

Posted by Dayton DUI

in Drugs & Alcohol

We have written about Ohio law enforcement's focus on drugged driving. In particular, the Ohio State Highway Patrol has invested heavily in training officers in the Drug Recognition Expert protocol. There are but a handful of police officers that after years of being on the road receive Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) training. Until recently, there were no approved portable roadside testers. This recently changed with Dräger offering into the market it’s newest device, the Dräger DrugTest ® 5000. It is a portable drug testing device that officers can use at roadside. It is based upon collecting oral fluid (mixed saliva)...

26 August

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DUI Science: Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Process

Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics Defending a DUI (now called OVI in Ohio) requires an attorney to understand how the body reacts to the impairing substance (pharmacokinetics) and how the brain is affected by the substance (pharmacodynamics). Pharmacokinetics explains the absorption, distribution and elimination of the drug. Pharmacodynamics includes the action of the drug on the brain, pharmacologic effects and toxicity. [Holford, N., Chapter 3: Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics: Rational Dosing and the Time Course of Drug Action, in B. Katzung, Editor, McGraw Hill, Eighth Edition, 2001, p. 36]. Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics are explained in this short introductory video.Charles M. Rowland II has attended...

11 July

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OVI Case Law Update: State v. McMahon

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Law, DUI Process

In State v. McMahon, 12TRC-34824B, the city of Cincinnati appealed a ruling which granted a motion to suppress. The trial court suppressed the results of McMahon’s breath test after determining that the director of health had not promulgated the necessary requirements under R.C. 3701.143 for obtaining the access card required for operation of an Intoxilyzer 8000 machine.The issue for appeal was whether the trial court correctly found that the director of health had failed to promulgate the qualifications required for the issuance of an access card to those seeking to operate an Intoxilyzer 8000 machine. Pursuant to R.C. 3701.143, the director...

08 July

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Alcohol’s Impact On Motorcycle Operation

Posted by Dayton DUI

in Uncategorized

It is harder to control a motorcycle than it is to drive a car. The motorcycle requires a need for greater coordination and balance. Motorcycle accidents also carries a considerably greater risk of injury or death. An assessment of operating performance of experienced motorcyclists using a motorcycle simulator reveal positive correlations between potentially fatal errors and breath alcohol levels well below the then-accepted legal limit of intoxication of 0.10 g/dL (Colburn et al., 1993). Performance decrements were noted as BAC increased from 0.038-0.059 g/dL (Robinson et al., 1990).Motorcyclists drink at a higher percentage than car/truck drivers, but the motorcycle operators...

28 June

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Ohio’s First Post-McNeeley Blood Draw Case

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Law, DUI Process

In State v. Hollis, 2013-Ohio-2586, the Fifth Appellate District was faced with an appeal of a decision from the Richland County Common Pleas Court. The case was the first forced blood draw decision following the United States Supreme Court ruling in Missouri v. McNeeley, which held "that in drunk-driving inves- tigations, the natural dissipation of alcohol in the bloodstream does not constitute an exigency in every case sufficient to justify conducting a blood test without a warrant. The decision of the court used the previous rules for exigent circumstances as set forth in Schmerber v. California and does not address or rely upon...

03 June

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Motorcycle DUI – NHTSA Targets Motorcyclists for DUI Enforcement

Posted by Dayton DUI

in Uncategorized

NHTSA Devotes Time And Dollars To Study Motorcycle DUIIt is summer time and the perfect time to get out on the road. If you ride a motorcycle, you may notice that law enforcement is paying you a a lot of attention. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), motorcyclists involved in fatal crashes are 2.5 times more likely to have consumed alcohol than passenger vehicle drivers. In 2007, the number of alcohol-impaired motorcyclists in fatal crashes increased by 10 percent while the number of alcohol-impaired drivers of passenger cars declined 6 percent. (NHTSA defines “alcohol impaired” for vehicle...

22 May

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Dayton DUI Answers The Question, “Should I Blow?”

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Process

To blow or not to blow, that is the question. DUI attorney explains how the Breathe test affects your case in this video and whether to blow or not to blow. Unfortunately, the answer is "maybe" and involves a very complicated investigation of the facts of your case and your personal history. You should NEVER refuse the test without understanding how a refusal would affect YOU. No attorney can know all of the circumstances of your arrest and your personal history, always ask to speak to an attorney when making this decision.Can you answer "TRUE" to ALL of the following questions? If so,...

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