High Schools Increase Student Safety with Breath Alcohol Testing

By: Nicola Grun

High Schools Increase Student Safety with Breath Alcohol Testing

By Nicola Grun

Calcasieu Parish High School, Louisiana and Beaverton High School District, Oregon use new breathalyzer technology from Lifeloc Technologies to eliminate alcohol abuse at school events and save lives.

AllenCormier,SergeantwithCalcasieuParishSheriff’sDepartmentinLouisianaknowsfirst-handthatlivesaresavedbyconductingbreathalcoholtestingatschoolevents.SaysSergeantCormier,“Priortotestingforalcoholatschooleventsatleastonechilddiedeachyearfromalcoholrelatedincidents.Thisstatistichassincebeeneliminated.”ThesentimentisechoedbyKevinSutherlandspeakingabouttheBeavertonDistrictHighSchoolsinOregon.Kevinobservedthatpriortoimplementingcomprehensivealcoholawarenessandtestingprogramsatthefiveschools,sixto10teenagersdiedeachyearinalcoholrelatedcrashes.SinceBea-vertonDistrictimplementedtestingthreeyearsagotherehavebeenthreedeathsandfiveinjuriesfromsimilarcrashes.

Houston, We Have a Problem AllenCormierandKevinSutherlandarePoliceOfficerswhohavewitnessedfirst-handthelife-savingpowerofschoolbreathalcoholtesting.Everyyearthealcoholrelatedfatalityrateamongyoungdriversin-creasesduringPromseason.InsomeyearstheApril,MayandJunetimeperiodaccountsforasmanyas40%ofallunderagealcoholrelatedtrafficdeaths.Acrossthenationtwentyfivepercentofyouthagedtwelvetotwentyyearsolddrinkalcoholand16%reportedbingedrinking.1In2010therewereapproximately189,000emergencyroomvisitsbythoseunderagetwentyoneforinjuriesandotherconditionslinkedtoalcoholintheUnitedStates.2InadditionunderagealcoholuseislinkedtoDrugandtobaccouse,riskysexualbehavior,aca-demicfailure,andalterationsinthedevelopingbrainandfetalalcoholsyndrome.3 Breath Alcohol Testing at the Beaverton District TheBeavertonSchoolDistrictisthethirdlargestinOregonandworksincollaborationwiththeSKID Program(StopKidsImpairedDriving)toeducatehighschoolstudentsaboutthedangersofdrinkingand

driving.Studentswatchgraphicvideosinvolv-ingwreckedvehiclesandinjuredvictims.Attheprogram’sstartsixtotenteenagersdiedeachyearinalcoholrelatedcrashes,howeverinrecentyearstherehaveonlybeenthreedeathsandfiveinjuriesfromsimilarcrashes.

PriortotestingstudentswithLifelocbreathtesters,SchoolResourceOfficerswouldconductfieldsobrietytests(FST)todetermineifstudentswereundertheinfluenceofalcoholatschoolevents.InperforminganFST,officersrequestsuspects to perform intuitive activities like follow-inganobjectwiththeireyes,recitingthealphabet,walkingastraightlineandstandingononeleg.OneissuewiththeFSTisthatsubjectscanfailthistesteventhoughtheymaynotbeundertheinfluenceofalcohol.Thebiggerissueisthetimeittakestoconductthetest.Bycomparison,fieldsobrietytestsaveragethreeminutesperstudentandallowforhumanerrorwhiletheLifelocBreathalyzerrespondsvirtuallyinstantly.

The FC5 is designed for automatic and manual zero tolerance alcohol screening. In automatic mode the subject blows onto the collector cone and the test triggers automatically. A POS (alcohol detected) or NEG (no alcohol) result appears almost instantly, making it suitable for screening high numbers of students entering events. In manual mode the FC5 can test ambient air or open drink containers.

TodayOfficersuseLifeloc’sFC5 Hornettorapidlyscreenapproximately200studentspriortoeventen-try.Studentsmustprovideconsenttobetestedatschooldancesandsportingevents,butcanbedeclinedentryiftheydonotconsent.TheFC5 Hornetisazerotolerancealcoholscreenerthatcantestpeople,ambientairandopendrinkcontainers.

The Calcasieu Success Story AllenCormier,SergeantwithCalcasieuParishSheriff’sDepartment,LouisianapurchasedsixLifelocFC10breathalyzersin2012.“Weweregettingalotofincidenceshappeningatschoolsduringprom,home-cominganddifferenthighschooldances,”statedtheCalcasieuParishPublicSchools’Administrator.Noweventticketsincludeawarningtostudentsandparentsthatalcoholtestingmaybeconducted.“We’veactu-allytestedmorethan450studentswithin30minutes,”saysAllen,“andbecauseeveryonenowknowsthatwehavethecapabilityoftestingthewarningisbackedup.”Sincethemajorityofstudentswanttoattendnowtheyshowupsober.

Studentsfoundtobeundertheinfluencearesenthomeandtheparent(s)notified.Calciseautypi-callypassestheresponsibilityforsubsequentdisciplinaryactiontotheparents.“Thisisanimportantpoint,”saidChelseaJohnson,Life-locSchoolsSpecialist.“Schoolsarenotattemptingtopreventkidsfromdrinkingalcohol.Thatistheparent’sresponsibility.Bytesting,schoolsareensuringasaferandmoreenjoyableschooleventforall.”

Summary Breath alcohol testing at HighSchooleventsisaprovende-terrenttoillegalunderagedrinking.WhileBreathalyzerusecanbecon-troversialreducingalcoholrelatedaccidentsandfatalitiesshouldneverbe.FormoreinformationonimplementingbreathalcoholscreeningpleasecontactLifelocatsales@lifeloc.comorcall303.931.9500.

References1. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Results from the 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Summary of National Findings 2. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. The DAWN Report: Highlights of the 2010 Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) Findings on Drug-Related Emergency Department Visits3. The Surgeon General’s Call to Action To Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking 2007. http://www.camy.org/factsheets/sheets/alcohol_advertising_promotion/Call_To_Action.pdf

Calcasieu Parish uses the Lifeloc FC10breathalyzer.TheFC10 combinestwotestingmodesintoonedevice.In“passive”modestudentsarerapidlyscreenedforthepresenceofanyamountofalcoholintheirsystem.CalcasieuParishsaves$1,400inmouthpiececostsannuallybyusingpassivemode.Studentsidentifiedwithalcoholintheirsystemcanbe“direct”testedusingamouthpiecetogettheirac-tualBAC(BreathAlcoholContent)level.