Class 12-15 Week #8

Week 8's class focused on OUI enforcement; Sgt. Chris McDermott and Officer Adam Traynor discussed OUI enforcement procedures, including the use of field sobriety tests and the portable breath analyzer. Prior to the class, Sgt. Bruce Lawrence took two volunteers out for drinks and dinner; the man drank 6 large beers, the woman drank 4 glasses of wine. Officer Traynor then put them through the field sobriety tests that he uses to determine the level of inebriation, including reciting the alphabet, counting backwards, and walking heel-to-toe in a straight line. Both "victims" did pretty well, although the man couldn't recall the last 3 letters of the alphabet. He blew a .05 on the Breathalyzer, the woman blew a .06; the legal limit is .08. After the field sobriety test demonstration, Officer Traynor and Lt. Guillemette showed photographs of alcohol-related car crashes in Sandwich. Several of the drivers had blood alcohol levels above .20, and most of the drivers were in their 20s; not all of them survived. It was a reminder to all of us that drinking and driving can be a lethal combination.                Conttibuted by Donna Leiss, Editor

Photos courtesy of Pauline Fortin