[Discrepancies between police breath alcohol measurements in a field trial and blood alcohol concentration according to BGA guidelines and possible consequences for citizens]

Divergences between breath-alcohol values measured on the occasion of police field experiments and precise blood-alcohol determinations according to guidelines of the German National Institute of Health (BGA) are reported. In 169 selected cases the difference of time between breath analysis and drawing the blood sample was less than 15 minutes. The consequences regarding forensic relevant cut-off values (0.8, 1.1, and 1.6/1000 resp.) are discussed.