In conjunction with a Penn State study of new technologies to detect drunk driving, State College police officers will now be using an alcohol-detecting flashlight during DUI stops. According to Penn State researchers, the devices make it easier for officers to quickly identify drivers with a blood alcohol level above the legal limit but who do not appear intoxicated at first glance.

The device, known as a passive alcohol sensor, looks much like a normal flashlight. However, when it is placed within five or 10 inches of a driver's mouth, it can detect whether the driver has been drinking. In addition, it can sense whether the driver has been drinking lightly, moderately, or heavily.

According to borough police Chief Tom King, the flashlight's reading is not enough to arrest a driver for DUI or DAI. However, it can alert an officer that the driver is under the influence, and provide probable cause to justify field sobriety or chemical tests, he claims.

In other cities in Pennsylvania and other states, which have tested the flashlights for two years, the percentage of allegedly drunk drivers identified in initial DUI checkpoint stops jumped to 71 percent with the use of the flashlights. In stops where the flashlights were not used, the identification rate was 55 percent.

Despite the fact that the flashlight's reading will not be sufficient to justify a DUI arrest, the fact that drivers will not be aware that they are being tested by the flashlight is troubling. Drivers have the right to know that they are being subjected to a criminal investigation, especially when the result of that investigations could lead to blood-alcohol tests and, ultimately, a DUI arrest and conviction.

Source: StateCollege.com, "Alcohol-Detecting Flashlights Introduced in State College DUI Enforcement," Adam Smeltz, Sept. 27, 2011