Citation

Jones AW. J. Traffic Med. 1990; 18(1): 1-3.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1990, International Association for Accident and Traffic Medicine)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Alleged drinking after the offence "the hip-flask ploy" is an increasingly common defense tactic among suspected drunk drivers. To tackle this problem, forensic scientists usually resort to making theoretical calculations of the maximum BAC expected from the after-drink and comparing this with the forensic laboratory result. The technique of congener analysis in body fluids has developed following the landmark work by Machata on application of headspace gas chromatography in forensic toxicology. Besides ethanol and water, alcoholic beverages contain trace amounts of many other chemical substances, among others, higher alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, and esters. These are known collectively as congeners and impart aroma and flavor to drinks. If a drunk driver claims consumption of alcohol after driving but before the blood specimen was obtained, congener analysis can provide useful forensic evidence. Congener analysis is a relatively new area of forensic toxicology. The various groups working in this field should attempt to standardize their approach and focus attention on qualitative and quantitative analysis of a few principal congener alcohols.

Keywords

Ethanol impaired driving