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How do officers determine if a driver is impaired?
Whereas a simple breathalyzer or blood test can determine the Blood-Alcohol Content of a driver, there are many other substances that law enforcement must learn to detect that can also impair a person’s ability to drive.
Houghton Police Chief John Donnelly says some of his new officers are participating in OWI Court Training.
Donnelly said they are seeing situations where drivers have had a couple of drinks of alcohol, use of marijuana with a medical marijuana card, a sleeping pill and two painkillers.
He says it’s difficult to test for all of those substances. He added that often times impaired motorists are being stopped in the middle of the afternoon.
The training will help officers when they have to testify in court to explain what factors were taken into account when the arrest was made.
