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A $236,339 grant awarded by Gov. Kay Ivey will improve the state’s ability to take dangerous drivers off the road and make Alabama highways safer.

The Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences will use the grant to upgrade alcohol-testing devices to a system that checks for alcohol content on two levels, reducing the chance that results can be legally refuted.

Funds will be used to purchase 15 breath analyzers. Ten existing machines will be refurbished to bring them up to newer standards.

The new or updated analyzers will be distributed to law enforcement agencies throughout the state where they can be used by multiple agencies at the agency location or onsite during special traffic enforcement details. The breath analyzers test alcohol content by infrared and fuel cell technology.

Additionally, the devices can transmit information to a central system to provide instant data to help state officials identify areas that might warrant an increase of law enforcement and patrols.

The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs is administering the grant from funds made available to the state from the U.S. Department of Justice.

ADECA administers a wide range of programs that support law enforcement, victim programs, economic development, water resource management, energy conservation and recreation.