recommend a portable breathalizer?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Any opinions about various commercially available (i.e. consumer rather than police) portable breathalyers (aka breath alcohol analyzers)?

I actually wonder why more people don’t carry them in their cars. It seems like a a pretty cheap and easy way to doublecheck whether you are safe to drive.

Do these things actually work? Any thoughts on particular brands? It looks like there are a few, such as the CA-2000, available on the Internet for under $100. If these things are reasonably reliable, then that sounds like a real bargain.

Constantine

2

My opinion comes second-hand from a friend who took part in a controlled test of breathalysers (actually, he video taped the test… so his involvement was limited to simply observing). According to him, none of the commercially available breathalysers were at all accurate, nor were the ones used by the police department. The only really accurate test, according to him (and, of course, according to the limitations of the particular study in which they were involved), were the actual machines that the police use to directly measure BAC from blood samples.

3

I purchased a Precision Navigation Inc personal breathalyser from Buy.com when it was their “price mistake of the day.” With shipping it was about twenty bucks; a total impulse buy and just for a lark.

It is wildly, ridiculously, inaccurate: playing with it one night I got readings of .02, .04, .17, .09, .06 within a five minute period.

You know what is pretty accurate though? That fun little chart you get on the Dept. of Motor Vehicles envelope. Of course, there are fluctuations within that like mood, having eaten (it really does slow down the intestinal absorbtion of alcohol, extending the time period that you should not drive) and your body’s resistance to alcohol, blah, blah, blah…

Given that you are also a Californian, you should know that a DUI will cost you about five thousand dollars, and in a lot of places, any alcohol in your system will net you a “wet reckless” which is treated just like a DUI: you lose your license, pay fat fines, and often have to take substance abuse classes and/or counseling.

Not to preach, but if one is at all worried that one shouldn’t drive, then don’t. At the CHP Academy they do a little demo which includes having cadets drink beer, blow in a breathalyser, evaluate their ability to operate a motor vehicle safely, drink more, and so on… The funny thing is, is that often a cadet will have less confidence re: driving safely when their BAC is around .04 than when it is at the legal limit, in this state: .08. Alcohol really does impair one’s judgement, and often more subtly than just -oops- setting down that highball glass a little too hard and a little too close to the counter’s edge.

With all this, I probably sound like a teetotaler. I actually do drink when I go out, but if I am the DD I go hog wild on the coffee, shirley temples, and water… woo-hoo…my rockstar lifestyle :wink:

Sorry about the DUI lecture, but the “doublecheck whether you are safe to drive” bit kind of made me want to make sure you knew about the “wet reckless” and all that–driving is dangerous enough with all the unlicensed drivers, inexperienced drivers, various substance addled drivers, fatigued drivers…

Damn, when did I become my DAD? My husband will have kittens if I don’t get rid of this handlebar mustache before he gets home.