NewsWhore
03-12-2007, 06:10 PM
AMET officers were putting their new toys to use over the weekend and personalities of all stripes were giving their views on the positive and negative aspects of the new policy. El Caribe reported that AMET officers, accompanied by Traffic Court prosecutors conducted a large number of tests on Friday night, detaining some and seizing a few vehicles. Diario Libre reported that there was confusion about the devices, and some bar and restaurant owners were asking for parameters as to how many drinks a person can consume before testing positive. According to William Brown, a former executive for one of the larger rum companies, just one small beer can produce a positive reading.
One volunteer took just one drink of vodka and tested in the red zone/no driving on the apparatus. Amidst all the furor over the use of the breathalyzers, only 7% of those tested got a positive reading. According to an article in today's Diario Libre, anyone who resists testing will get a summons and the vehicle will be confiscated. During the first night, 28 people were tested and only two tested positive. AMET spokesman Jose Jaquez said that the test is not obligatory, but anyone who refuses it will automatically be classified as positive. On a more aggressive note, El Caribe reports that Ramon Perez Figuereo, the head of the CNTU transport union, met with his membership yesterday and instructed them to resist both the testing and the pepper spray since he considered both to be illegal. He said that pepper spray should be turned on the AMET officers who use it.
Finally, El Caribe reports that the Dominican Ophthalmological Society has assured the public that the pepper spray in use by AMET will not produce permanent damage, and the effects should wear off within 48 hours. The information was released by Franklin Almeyda, the Minister of the Interior and Police.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#8)
One volunteer took just one drink of vodka and tested in the red zone/no driving on the apparatus. Amidst all the furor over the use of the breathalyzers, only 7% of those tested got a positive reading. According to an article in today's Diario Libre, anyone who resists testing will get a summons and the vehicle will be confiscated. During the first night, 28 people were tested and only two tested positive. AMET spokesman Jose Jaquez said that the test is not obligatory, but anyone who refuses it will automatically be classified as positive. On a more aggressive note, El Caribe reports that Ramon Perez Figuereo, the head of the CNTU transport union, met with his membership yesterday and instructed them to resist both the testing and the pepper spray since he considered both to be illegal. He said that pepper spray should be turned on the AMET officers who use it.
Finally, El Caribe reports that the Dominican Ophthalmological Society has assured the public that the pepper spray in use by AMET will not produce permanent damage, and the effects should wear off within 48 hours. The information was released by Franklin Almeyda, the Minister of the Interior and Police.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#8)