
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, June 28, 1994                   TAG: 9406300039
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV1   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: New River Valley bureau
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG                                 LENGTH: Short

LOOK FOR TOUGHER LAWS, SOBRIETY CHECKS FRIDAY|

Tougher drinking-and-driving laws go into effect Friday, the same day the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office and state police will be conducting sobriety checkpoints.

As many as 11 deputies and troopers will be out Friday evening at various locations across the county, said Lt. J.T. Whitt of the Sheriff's Office.

The officers will be equipped with a new alcohol-detecting device, the PBA3000, a portable breath analyzer capable of detecting the passive presence of alcohol by drivers while officers speak to them through open car windows.

The hand-held detector will give a reading that will alert the officer to, or confirm the suspicion of, the presence of alcohol on someone's breath. If an officer decides there is probable cause that a driver is intoxicated, the approved preliminary tests for driving under the influence will be given. The device also can be used like a regular breathalyzer to obtain preliminary blood-alcohol readings.

Keywords:
GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1994

by CNB