Handheld Breathalaysers

I've decided to invest in one of these - save the messing with guessing amd I over the limit after a night out:

[broken link removed]

http://www.testers.ie/

Anyone used either of these and have any comments to make?

Thanks,

B

There was one on display in one of our local chemist shop windows. I asked the price - €110. An awful lot of booze. I'll stick with not guessing - don't drink at all if driving. Make up for it at other times.

joanmul said:

There was one on display in one of our local chemist shop windows. I asked the price - €110. An awful lot of booze. I'll stick with not guessing - don't drink at all if driving. Make up for it at other times.

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Yea, I never drink and drive. It's the morning after I worry about.

Any other thoughts on this out there?

BM

I have one from Safedrive. I’m not happy with it as it’s giving me wild variations in BAC readings. I’m going to contact them to have it recalibrated but since I haven’t done this yet I can’t say for sure if the product is good or not.

Of course these devices should only be used to check your BAC level the morning after a night out. This was clearly stated in the OP. I too am interested in other peoples experiences of these devices but can the “You shouldn’t drink and drive” brigade please restrain themselves unless they have experience of the product as requested on the OP.

M

Mouldy said:

Of course these devices should only be used to check your BAC level the morning after a night out.

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Why? Is it acceptable to drive when just under the limit the next morning, but not when just under the limit the night before?

Pretty much. Your BAC does not start high and then decrease as the night goes on. Rather the alchohol works its way into your bloodstream over time. Thus the BAC level may actually increase after you've stopped drinking, depending on your metabaolism and how much you have drank. Since there is no way for an individual to know when their BAC has peaked (outside of lab condifions), it would be foolhardy to rely on even a very accurate BAC indicator until several hours after you had consumed your last drink. In most cases this would be the next morning after a night out and since this is the context of the OP my comment was intended to reflect this.

Have bought a couple of these for family members who drive for a living, got them from EBay for less than €70 including shipping for the same model though. I know it has already stopped one of my broyther's friends from getting behind the wheel the morning after when he found he was over the limit.

Spent St Stephen day using an official one (Brother is a garda) - at beginning of day I blew into it and it came up with a zero reading - five minutes later I drank a short and immediately failed the test - after a glass of water I passed - after five or six glasses of wine over dinner and into the evening with a glass of water beforehand I took the test again and passed!! This made no sense - I should have been well over any reasonable limit - I wasn't fit to drive.


Past 30

No point taking the test straight away, you need to wait at least 20-30 minutes after your last drink before testing to get anything approaching accurate results.