New blood-alcohol devices slow to catch on in Ohio

COLUMBUS (AP) — A new device for testing suspected drunken drivers has yet to make a big impact in Ohio.

Fifteen months after police began using the Intoxilyzer 8000, the device is available in only 51 of the state’s 88 counties, and none are in Ohio’s major urban areas.

The Columbus Dispatch reported today that about 80 of the 700 portable machines purchased by the state are in use.

Lindsay Komlanc, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Public Safety, said all law enforcement agencies that currently have old breath-testing instruments eventually will get the new machines but couldn’t say when.

Ohio spent $6.4 million for the devices, which have been subject to legal challenges in other states questioning whether the machines are reliably accurate.