A Skilled Attorney Trusts Our Alcohol Testing in Virginia

Stephen Pfeiffer, a DUI and criminal defense attorney at Wolcott| Rivers | Gates in Virginia Beach, is a true advocate of our alcohol testing in Virginia. We’re always pleased when an attorney trusts us enough to steer clients toward Smart Start. However, we’re especially proud when they integrate our entire suite of products and services into their practice.

Virginia’s DUI laws require that first offenders must use an Ignition Interlock Device (IID). “I often find myself getting coupons and mailers from all of the different companies,” Pfeiffer said. “I don’t ever push clients toward a particular company. But a client might ask me about my experience with a company that has shown the best customer service and dealing with issues that arise. I tell them that Smart Start has been reliable for being responsive not just to the commonwealth, but to their customers using the Interlock device.

“I give them options and tell them about the pros and cons of each provider,” he added. “With Smart Start, the pros substantially outweigh the cons.”

Six big reasons to trust Smart Start for IID

The Best Breath Alcohol Testing in Virginia

For Pfeiffer, the pros include:

• Superior customer service, from installation to removal and everything in between.
• The sheer number of service center locations – not just in Virginia Beach, but throughout the state, nationwide and worldwide.
• The discounts that Smart Start makes available to his clients for alcohol testing in Virginia Beach.

Pfeiffer has plenty of experience with our IID solutions and how they apply to his clients. But in the past few years, he has been working extensively with Smart Start’s portable alcohol breath-testing devices – SmartMobile™ and BreathCheck™.

Several years ago, Pfeiffer saw the potential of SmartMobile for alcohol testing in Virginia Beach. He quickly introduced it to judges and pretrial officers in the area.

“I wanted to show it as an effective way to authenticate testing results with facial identification, the client’s GPS location, and more real-time information to quickly ascertain if a person is using alcohol,” Pfeiffer said. “The courts weren’t familiar with SmartMobile, so I tried it out in a bond hearing and ran a test sample. It worked very successfully in that case. Now, SmartMobile is very commonplace in our courts.”

Learn more about SmartMobile

The Value of Portable Alcohol Testing

Typically, Pfeiffer will offer SmartMobile as an option for a client’s bond conditions while awaiting a trial date.

“It has become a new option available for attorneys and judges to consider in lieu of having the person stay in jail or go directly to inpatient treatment,” he said. “SmartMobile gives me something to offer the judge to show that the person will not be consuming alcohol. It gives the court the ability through pre-trial monitoring to verify that they’re not, and act quickly if they do.”

Court admissibility of SmartMobile

Getting Alcohol Testing Data in Real Time

To Pfeiffer – and other Smart Start partners – the time factor is especially important. Our SmartWeb™ online case management solution lets attorneys or State Authorities see results in real time.

“The problem with devices like ankle monitors is that they download weekly or monthly, but you aren’t able to immediately try to do something to prevent someone from consuming alcohol or operating a vehicle,” he said. “SmartMobile gives the court assurances that they’ll be monitored in real time, making sure they’re not drinking and being a danger to the community.”

How SmartWeb can work for you

BreathCheck Adds a New Dimension

While Pfeiffer targets SmartMobile for specific pre-trial monitoring, he has shifted to BreathCheck as a solution for simply proving that a client is making a good-faith effort to abstain from using alcohol. It also provides a cheaper, easier and more discreet option for alcohol testing of his clients in Virginia Beach.

“They want to actually show the court when we go back for their trial date that they have remained completely abstinent from alcohol, and have done all this additional testing,” he said. “It’s a way to show the judge that they’ve done hundreds of blows over the past few months, and not once tested positive. That can be very favorable in a close-call case, to help tip the scales in their favor.”

Pfeiffer practices what he preaches. Before using BreathCheck in his practice, he used it for a couple of months to learn more about it.

“It’s easier to relate to a client if you can say that you have used the equipment,” he said. “That makes it a lot more palatable to them if you understand where their frustration could come from, and when you understand where they might be making mistakes.”

Which is best for you: SmartMobile or BreathCheck?

Learn More About All of Our Products

Our partners can get more information about all of our breath-alcohol testing solutions – in Virginia or anywhere else – by contacting their Smart Start Business Development Representative. You can also go to our free online Smart Start University to get in-depth information about each product.