Breathalysers

pitkin2020

for novelty get one, you can see which one of your mates has consumed the most whilst on a night out. The problem is if you are looking at these to give you a clear indication as to whether your near, over or under the legal limit then your taking a big risk, they simply aren't accurate enough to give you a good enough reading.

The other issue is after drinking till 3 in the morning getting in the car at 9am you may have considered as madness before and you would have seeked alternative transport, with one of these your alcohol content shows as being under the legal limit (may or may not be accurate) you may decide now its fine to drive. I suppose though if you do rely on one of these and your caught as being over the limit you can tell all your friends it wasn't your fault as the breath tester said you were fine...............................

daggy

It's a shame that people on here feel the need to lambast you for asking a question.

We all know that ideally we should never drink and drive, but in reality people don't always adhere to this.

You say you only drink once a fortnight - is it not possible to drink on a night when you don't have to drive the next day?

If you must buy one of these, then at least buy a decent one and don't take it as gospel; after all, if you get pulled and it was wrong, you're !!!!ed!!!

You could always try having lager shandy instead of a full pint of lager. I know it's a bit 'girly', but so is seeing someone sobbing their eyes out at the side of the road as the coppers take their motor.

pitkin2020

daggy wrote: »

It's a shame that people on here feel the need to lambast you for asking a question.

We all know that ideally we should never drink and drive, but in reality people don't always adhere to this.

You say you only drink once a fortnight - is it not possible to drink on a night when you don't have to drive the next day?

If you must buy one of these, then at least buy a decent one and don't take it as gospel; after all, if you get pulled and it was wrong, you're !!!!ed!!!

You could always try having lager shandy instead of a full pint of lager. I know it's a bit 'girly', but so is seeing someone sobbing their eyes out at the side of the road as the coppers take their motor.

So whats the point in buying one other than as a novelty value??

As for your opening comment I think some people are justified to rant about drink driving, at the end of the day its not only the drink driver that is effected, it could be the family of the person he/she ends up killing and it effects every other motorist on the road.

The OP certainly came across sounding like they wanted a breathalyser so they could go out for a few beers and get the green light to drive in the morning/few hours later. TBH if these were accurate fair do's but they aren't your basically playing russian roulette if your going to use them for that purpose.........

Hammyman

Johnny_Barnes10 wrote: »

Im currently banned having been pulled the day after the night before. It takes an hour for 1 unit of alcohol to leave the system. Didn't think I was over. When I get my licence back I'll not be drinking heavily when due to drive in the morning. Couple beers max!

Here is someone who has not learned the lesson. Don't drink at all.

daggy

pitkin2020 wrote: »

So whats the point in buying one other than as a novelty value??

As for your opening comment I think some people are justified to rant about drink driving, at the end of the day its not only the drink driver that is effected, it could be the family of the person he/she ends up killing and it effects every other motorist on the road.

The OP certainly came across sounding like they wanted a breathalyser so they could go out for a few beers and get the green light to drive in the morning/few hours later. TBH if these were accurate fair do's but they aren't your basically playing russian roulette if your going to use them for that purpose.........

I agree with the comments where people say if there's any doubt, you shouldn't drive. However, say you feel sober, yet you take one of these tests and it gives a positive reading, then you don't drive. Surely that is a positive effect? Not just a novelty either is it? Or perhaps you feel a bit iffy, but think you can drive... however, the machine says otherwise and you don't drive because of this?

How many people do you see in the pub on a Sunday night? Or at restaurants etc? I'm sure some of them drive and have a job. Abstinence is obviously best, but it's not always the case.

Why do they need to rant? It's of little relevance to what the OP is asking. He obviously knows the risks, otherwise he wouldn't be asking for advice on a device that (apparently) mediates these risks.

I don't sympathise with people who drink drive, I think it's truly idiotic and countries who dish out corporal punishment for such offences have the right idea. However, if they don't already know this, people on a forum moaning at them about it is not likely to help.

Why don't we rant it anybody who does something that could possibly result in collateral damage? For example, people who smoke in public. Why should I have to inhale their toxic fumes? We should lambast anyone who posts a question that relates to smoking then....

Yorkie1

There are sufficient comments on the reliability / calibration of these devices already on the thread. However, a couple of general points to pick up on some issues touched upon in the thread.

1. "An hour per unit to work through the body". Yes, as a very very very rough guide. But that depends entirely on your height, weight, body type (how much fat you store), gender, how much you've eaten and when, speed of drinking and metabolism. So please don't rely on this to judge when you're safe to drive.

2. It takes time for alcohol levels to peak before falling again. So don't rely on these devices before leaving the pub etc - you may not have reached your maximum blood-alcohol level at that point, and (even assuming accuracy) will be more unsafe to drive once you're on the road than some time previously.