The Intoxilyzer 5000 is the machine approved by the State of Georgia to test the breath of a suspected impaired driver for the driver's blood alcohol content.
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In Georgia, the blood alcohol content standard for impaired driving is .08% or higher.  As of 2011, the Intoxilyzer 5000 is the machine used at the station house and is about the size of a VCR.  This is different than the Portable Breath Test (PBT) machine used on the roadside.  Submitting to the PBT test does not satisfy the requirements of Georgia’s Implied Consent law.  Only submitting to a breath, blood, or urine test will satisfy the Georgia Implied Consent law and if the test selected by law enforcement for Implied Consent purposes is a breath test then that will be performed on an Intoxilyzer 5000.
Submitting to the portable breath test does not satisfy the requirements of Georgia’s Implied Consent law.
After law enforcement has ensured the machine is working properly, the driver will be asked to give a breath sample. After the first sample, a short break will be taken and a second breath sample will be obtained. After the second sample is given, the machine will produce a printout of the results.
Unfortunately, the law enforcement officer will see a digital read-out of the results, and so it’s possible for the officer to ask for the driver to blow harder, which may cause the actual resulting read out to go higher. Scientifically, any quality test should be a blind test, but in reality with the digital readout capabilities, that is not the case.
Many other states have the Intoxilyzer 8000 which is much more technologically advanced than the Intox 5000 machines currently in use in Georgia.  It may surprise you that the Intox 5000 machines in use in Georgia use a computer chip that was developed in the 1980s.
If you or a loved one has been arrested for a GA DUI or DWI, it is important that you contact a Georgia DUI Lawyer to discuss your individual rights concerning arrests for drunk driving.  Our lawyers have some of the same Georgia DUI training that law enforcement has received. Mr. Breakfield has completed and passed the NHTSA course for Standard Field Sobriety Testing.  We believe it is important that a Georgia DUI attorney know the tests that the officer performed and whether they were done correctly.
At A. Bishop Law, our Georgia Criminal Defense Attorney welcomes questions on Criminal Defense laws, Traffic Laws and Georgia DUI laws. Please Call or Email us with any questions.
About the attorney:  Anne Bishop is a Georgia Lawyer with A. Bishop Law in Gainesville, Georgia and handles various DUI / DWI, Marijuana Arrests and other Georgia Criminal Defense matters.  The law office of A. Bishop Law can assist clients throughout Georgia including: Hall County (Gainesville, Oakwood, Flowery Branch), Jackson County  (Jefferson, Braselton) White County (Helen, Cleveland), Lumpkin County (Dahlonega), Dawson County (Dawsonville), Habersham County (Demorest, Cornelia), and all of Northeast Georgia.
This article and/or video should not be considered nor relied upon as legal advice since it is only intended for general overview and informational purposes. Please consult with an attorney on your specific situation in order to determine an appropriate legal course of action.