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By ArizonaDUI.com, March 10, 2010 11:24 am

The Arizona Legislature continues to crack down on DUI offenders, tightening the leash and enforcing harsher punishments. Despite law enforcement’s efforts to discourage drunk driving, there continues to be a constant number of cases.

So if harsher punishments aren’t decreasing the number of DUI incidents in Arizona, what might help? One device picking up steam is what is called a SCRAM bracelet. This Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor (SCRAM) is an 8-ounce bracelet made by Alcohol Monitoring Systems Inc. and is worn by offenders continuously, 24 hours a day, monitoring sweat through transdermal analysis.

The SCRAM bracelet measures alcohol using the same fuel cell technology used by most portable breath testing devices. The bracelet is able to work because alcohol is released through sweat and leaves the body unchanged because it’s not metabolized through the liver.

Later, the information collected by the bracelet is downloaded into a modem and maintained by management company, Intercept LLC.
The bracelet essentially measures the amount of ethanol in a person’s sweat.

This technology helps people stay sober and determines their compliance with court orders restricting them from alcohol use. Previously, blood alcohol or breath tests indicated alcohol use at that time, not in the hours before or after the test was completed. This device is tamper proof, as the management company is alerted if offenders try to remove the bracelet or place something around their skin to prevent it from taking any readings.

The device is not 100% accurate, but in the case of false positives, it is a quick process of determining whether offenders drank alcohol or their ankle was exposed to something such as hairspray, based on the rate of its metabolism.

The bracelet’s battery is good for about 90 days and an alert is made if the battery is getting low. SCRAM is paid for by the offenders, costing about $12 a day.

SCRAM bracelets have been an option for a few years, but haven’t been widely used just yet. They’re definitely a great option to continuously monitor alcohol intake.

This post was intended to provide general information only and is not intended as specific legal advice. You should not rely upon this information alone, but should consult legal counsel regarding the application of the laws and regulations discussed and as applied to your specific case or circumstance.

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By thoug, December 8, 2009 9:09 am

This blog entry should not be construed as a way to “cheat the system” or determine how much alcohol you can drink before you drive. The fact is, no alcohol should be consumed before you drive because even small amounts of alcohol can lead to terrible results including accidents and arrests.

The purpose of this blog is to provide a general overview of blood-alcohol content (BAC) for different types of drinks and body weights so that you can understand the “general” effects of alcohol on the body. Keep in mind that everyone is different and many factors affect your BAC, including the amount of food and water that you consume, etc.

For the Arizona Department of Public Safety chart above, one drink is considered to be any of the following: one 1-ounce shot of 86-proof liquor, 3 ounces of wine (which is a very small glass of wine) or one 12-ounce beer. Also, this chart assumes that a person is drinking and absorbing the amount of drinks on the top row (1 through 9 drinks) at about the same time.

Obviously, a person that weighs only 100 pounds will need to drink much less alcohol than someone who weighs 200 pounds to be “presumed under the influence.” In fact, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety’s chart, a 100-pound person would need to drink only two drinks before they “may be impaired,” and only three drinks before they are “presumed under the influence.”

According to FORCON, a forensic consulting company, during typical social-type drinking, “the highest BAC is usually achieved within 30 minutes after completion of consumption, though it could take as long as 60 minutes. When large amounts of alcohol are consumed over a short time interval, or when a large quantity of food is eaten with the alcohol, the absorption phase may not be complete for up to two hours after last consumption.”

Therefore it’s no surprise that Arizona DUI law mandates that the highest BAC be considered “within 2 hours of driving.” Importantly, most people absorb about only .015 grams of alcohol per hour – the equivalent of less than one drink per hour for most people.