State Police: Don't Breathe Easy, Drunken Drivers

State Police will soon have new breathalyzers to test suspected drunken drivers.

Connecticut has just signed a contract with Draeger Safety Diagnostics for 150 of the new devices.

State police said they are more technologically advanced than the 7-year-old machines that Connecticut currently uses.

Those current devices, the Intoxolizer 5000, are the subject of a lawsuit involving a Norwalk man.

His attorney argues that breathalyzers discriminate against blacks and said black men have a smaller lung capacity than white men, therefore test results for black men register higher than the sobriety standard set by the device.

State officials say the lawsuit has no bearing on the decision to acquire new breathalyzers.

The new devices will cost just under $1 million to purchase.