EYE SPY

County seeks device to aid in DUI testing

By ALISSA EATON aeaton@sungazette.com
Robert W. McCullough III, chief county adult probation officer, was put on the hot seat Tuesday.

As part of a demonstration before the Lycoming County Driving Under the Influence Advisory Council at the Ross Club, he volunteered to be tested by a new device that can detect drugs or alcohol in a person’s system by scanning the eye pupils.

McCullough passed with flying (green) colors, but within two to three months the device may be used on a regular basis in the area to help law enforcement officials more effectively do their jobs.

The county is vying for a pupillometer, a device that can detect whether someone is under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and even can tell if they are fatigued.

The state Department of Transportation authorized the purchase of five machines, and three of those already are spoken for.

But the Lycoming County DUI Advisory Council is going after one of the remaining two.

“We will get one, I am just not sure when,” said Chris Smith, highway safety specialist for the Community Traffic Safety project.

She said meters now available through the state are part of a pilot program, but more will be purchased in the future.

Judge Nancy Butts, recently appointed to the council, said Tuesday the group will put together a letter within the next 24 hours requesting one of the pupillometers.

Butts said the device could be used not only at DUI checkpoints, but also in the court system with people who are on probation.

“It sounds like we have a really good chance of getting it,” Butts said.

C. Stephen Erni, executive director of the state DUI Association, attended the luncheon to update the council on the pupillometer and demonstrate its use.

The $9,800 machine looks like a large pair of binoculars. A beam of light flashes on the subject’s eyes, then records their pupillary response over a three-second period, Erni said.

The test is repeated two more times, then determines an average of the three tests.

There are three outcomes — green (passing), yellow (suspicion) and red (failing).

Erni said the machine will register yellow if someone has caffeine or anti-depressants in their systems, too.

Test results determine what action law enforcement officials take next.