The Intoxilyzer 8000 made its in-the-field debut in Ohio on Saturday night, but the breath-alcohol tester didn't send a bunch of drunken drivers to jail.
The instrument gave a positive reading on only one person at a drunken-driving checkpoint in Clermont County, according to the state Department of Public Safety, which bought the controversial devices.
Another person tested positive at a state patrol post, officials said.
The state bought 700 of the devices this year from a Kentucky-based company that has been in court in other states over its refusal to turn over the machines' source code.
Although DUI defense lawyers have predicted similar battles in Ohio, the debut was low-key.
Four people were arrested at the Clermont County checkpoint, including two who refused to take the test. According to the Department of Public Safety, of the two who consented to the test, one was tested in the field and had a blood-alcohol reading of 0.212 percent, above the 0.08 percent level at which a driver is considered to be drunk in Ohio.
-- James Nash jnash@dispatch.com
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