Teen blames kiss for her drunken driving arrest

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At first glance I thought this was a lame excuse for underage drinking and driving. But then I read further and saw that the alcohol was measured by using a portable breath tester. These devices usually use a fuel cell system and have no provision for detecting “mouth alcohol” (via a slope detector). That being said it’s entirely possible, depending on how long after her last kiss she was tested that she could have actually ingested no alcohol, and the reading obtained was entirely from kiss someone who was drinking.

This is just ONE of the problems when police use portable breath testers on juveniles. The state usually argues (successfully) that a portable breath tester that usually isn’t admissible in court, can be admissible for showing the “presence of alcohol” in juveniles, since the device doesn’t have to be accurate, only show if alcohol is present or not.

But in cases like shown in this case it is possible for a positive reading from someone who didn’t drink anything at all. Similarly, if someone were to drink a “non-alcoholic” beer, and immediately get tested with a portable breath tester, there is every chance they would have a positive reading. Non-alcoholic beers usually have very small amount of alcohol present. The portable breath tester has no way of even attempting to determine if the alcohol it reads is coming from someone’s breath, or from their mouth.

Hopefully the police followed up with a real alcohol test. Something like a blood test, or even another breath tester that was administered after a 15 minute deprivation period. If not, I hope the teen’s family gets themselves a good attorney, and a good scientist, so the trier of fact can at least hear about the inherent problems with relying on a portable breath tester – even if they ignore the issues.

ANN GIVENS
May 30, 2008

They say a lover’s kiss can be intoxicating.

Gianna Vigliotti, who was pulled over by police as she swerved in and out of her lane on Northern Boulevard in Manhasset Friday night, said that’s exactly what happened to her, according to court documents.

After the 17-year-old from Glen Cove recorded a .15 percent blood-alcohol level in a portable breath test – nearly the twice the legal limit of .08 percent – she told the officer who pulled her over, “I didn’t drink! I was kissing a boy who was drunk,” according to the police report.

It made no difference to Officer Michael Pallazzo whether Vigliotti’s speech was slurred from smooching or from swigging. When he found four full beer bottles under the passenger seat of her Volkswagen and an empty beer can in her purse, he placed her under arrest, court documents said.

She pleaded not guilty the following day, and was released to probation without bail. She is next due in court June 18.

Vigliotti’s attorney, Dennis Lemke of Mineola, said his client and her family are devastated by the charge.

“To now have it publicized is not only embarrassing, but demeaning as well,” he said. “We expect it to be resolved in the near future.”