Interviewee: Fan Li, Deputy Director of the Expert Committee of the National Vehicle Safety Engineering Technology Research Center.
Global Times health client reporter Ren Linxian.
From March 1, the new national standard for drunk driving - "Detection of Ethanol, Methanol, N-Propanol, Acetone, Isopropanol, and N-Butanol in Blood and Urine" (GB T 42430-2023) will be officially implemented. With the establishment of new standards, a lot of drivers.
I wonder, is the DUI test stricter or more lenient than before?
According to the explanation of the relevant departments, the reporter learned that the standard stipulates the detection methods of six substances such as ethanol (alcohol metabolite) in blood and urine. It is the basis for qualitative and quantitative analysis, evaluation and quality control of experiments, and is not a modification of the leniency of drunk driving and drunk driving determinations.
The changes in the new standard mainly include the following three aspects:
1.Expand alcohol testing methods.
The old standard only specified gas chromatography as a laboratory test method, but the new standard adds chromatography and mass spectrometry, as well as electrochemical sensor detection. Liu Wei, the drafter of the national standard and director of the forensic toxicology laboratory of the Institute of Forensic Science, said in an interview that compared with the previous public safety industry standards, a major improvement of the national standard is the expansion of the scope of application. This method not only increases the qualitative judgment method, but also expands the scope and application field of the standard, making the test results more scientific.
2.Improve the foundation of laboratory inspection and testing.
The old standard divided blood ethanol levels into two levels: 50 mg for 100 ml and 80 mg for 100 ml. The new standard divides the amount of ethanol in the blood into **, and the lower limit for drunk driving is adjusted from 50 mg for 100 ml to 20 mg for 100 ml. That is, the new standard stipulates that the blood ethanol content exceeds 20 mg and 100 ml is drunk driving. or equal to 80 mg 100 ml is considered drunk driving. The National Technical Committee for Forensic Technology Standardization particularly emphasized that this is only the basis for qualitative and quantitative analysis and evaluation and quality control of laboratories, and does not involve the judgment threshold of "drunk driving" or "drunk driving". The standard for determining drunk driving and drunk driving is still the "Threshold and Test of Blood and Breath Alcohol Content of Vehicle Drivers", that is, the blood alcohol content of vehicle drivers is greater than or equal to 20 mg 100 ml and less than 80 mg 100 ml. , which is drunk driving; The driver of a vehicle is driving while intoxicated if the blood alcohol content is greater than or equal to 80 milligrams and 100 milliliters. Driving while intoxicated is illegal, and driving while intoxicated is a crime. As a result, some people think that "the standards for drunk driving are stricter" is a misconception.
3. Adjust the conversion factor of blood and respiratory alcohol content.
The new national standard adjusts the conversion factor between blood alcohol content and expiratory alcohol content from 2100 to 2300. The breath alcohol content tester uses the breath alcohol concentration multiplied by this coefficient to convert the blood alcohol content value. This adjustment is based on the latest scientific research and statistics, which is more in line with the physical and metabolic characteristics of Chinese. It is also to make the test results more standardized and the law enforcement more scientific.
The main purpose of this new standard is to improve the accuracy of detection and more objectively determine whether it is illegal or criminal. Fan Li, deputy director of the expert committee of the National Vehicle Driving Safety Engineering Technology Research Center, said that drunk driving is extremely harmful, and China has been cracking down on drunk driving, and even criminalizing it, and the relevant departments are constantly improving the standard is the basis for ensuring the scientificity, objectivity and seriousness of law enforcement.
According to the World Health Organization, 50 to 60 percent of traffic accidents are related to drunk driving, which has been listed as the leading cause of traffic fatalities. Fan Li said that "don't drive after drinking, don't drink while driving" should become a social consensus. Depending on your physical condition, drivers must wait for 12 to 24 hours after consuming alcohol before driving. Studies have shown that the rate at which alcohol is metabolized in the human body depends on a variety of factors. In general, the half-life of alcohol degradation in the body is greater than 6 hours. Depending on individual differences, some people may take more than 10 hours or even 20 hours to metabolize. ▲
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