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Krauss v. Maryland4/1/1991
More than 50 percent of all highway fatalities in Maryland and the entire United States are alcohol related. The number killed on our nation's highways annually is equal to all Americans, approximately 50,000, killed over a ten year period in Vietnam.
The National Safety Council conservatively estimates that the economic loss to society for a single highway fatality is $200,000. The human and economic impact of
these fatalities is catastrophic and affects all of society. The drinking driver brings personal grief and hardship to families and loved ones and affects everyone through increased costs for law enforcement, medical, corrections, rehabilitation, and social services.
From the foreword by Colonel W.T. Travers, Jr., then Superintendent of the Maryland State Police, to the "Maryland Driving While Intoxicated Manual" prepared by the Chemical Test for Alcohol Unit of his organization (1985).
I
From time to time, the General Assembly has enacted legislation in an effort to cope with the problem of the driver whose faculties have been impaired by the ingestion of alcoholic beverages. It has forbidden a person to drive any vehicle while intoxicated or while under the influence of alcohol. Maryland Code (1977, 1987 Repl.Vol.) § 21-902(a) and (b) of the Transportation Article (TR). TR § 27-101(a) made it a crime to violate § 21-902(a) or (b), and various subsections of § 27-101 authorized sanctions of imprisonment, fine, and suspension or revocation of the privilege of operating a vehicle.
The Legislature has attempted to facilitate the prosecution of drunk drivers. TR 16-205.1(a) declares:
Any person who drives . . . a motor vehicle on a highway . . . is deemed to have consented, subject to the provisions of §§ 10-302 through 10-309, inclusive, of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article, to take a chemical test to determine the alcohol content of his blood if he should be detained on suspicion of driving . . . while
intoxicated, while under the influence of alcohol, or in violation of an alcohol restriction.
The Legislature has designated two types of chemical breath tests to determine the alcohol content of the blood of a suspected drunk driver: a "preliminary breath test," and a test hereinafter called a "Breathalyzer test." The tests are administered at different times, employ different equipment, and serve different purposes.
The Preliminary Breath Test
The preliminary breath test was established by TR § 16-205.2(a). It provided:
A police officer who has reasonable grounds to believe that an individual is or has been driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle while intoxicated or while under the influence of alcohol may, without making an arrest and prior to the issuance of a citation, request the individual to submit to a preliminary breath test to be administered by the officer . . . .
"The results of the preliminary breath test," subsection (c) explains, "shall be used as a guide for the police officer in deciding whether an arrest should be made . . . ." Although the results of the test "may be used as evidence by a defendant in a court action," they "may not be used as evidence by the State in any court action." Id. And, " he taking of or refusal to submit to a preliminary breath test is not admissible in evidence in any court action," nor may " ny evidence pertaining to a preliminary breath test . . . be used in a civil action." Id. Furthermore, " efusal to submit to a preliminary breath test shall not con
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