That Breathalyzer You Bought Online Won't Save Your License: Study
Thanksgiving is past and the coming month promises plenty of opportunities for socially acceptable, clove-scented boozing. Some beverages placed in hand — egg nog, for example — can easily pack enough liquor to make a sailor’s eyes water, while the drinker remains unaware of the serving size.
No problem, you say. You’ve bought a civilian breathalyzer, or perhaps the bar you’re at provides one. Got it all covered. Once that device delivers the green light, bam — it’s motoring time! Any police impaired driving checkpoint you encounter should pass your sober ass with flying colors, right?
So wrong. The majority of breathalyzers tested in a recent study failed miserably.
The study, conducted by our French friends north of New England, found that six out of ten of the most common non-police breathalyzers failed to return accurate results, and discovered flaws with the remaining four.
Consumer publication Protégez-Vous and the CAA-Quebec Foundation (Quebec’s version of AAA) couldn’t recommend any of the 10 models. In vetting the devices, the groups employed toxicologists from the Quebec Public Security Ministry, each armed with an official law enforcement-issued breathalyzer. Official results were then compared with those from off-the-shelf devices at three different levels of impairment (120 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood (0.12), 80 mg/100 ml (0.08) and 50 mg/100 ml (0.05).
The Digital Breath Alcohol Tester, sold north and south of the border by Groupon and Tuango, proved very inaccurate. A third of the time, results were off by 30 percent.
Of the four mobile breathalyzers that came close to official results, one was a standout winner: the BACtrack BT-M5, which sends the results to your iPhone or Android device. That model retails for $140 (CAD). Still, it can’t be recommended, as such devices need to be calibrated by the manufacturer before first use, and every year thereafter. That’s a roughly $50 expense each time.
In an embarrassing turn, the single-use breathalyzer sold by the province’s government-controlled liquor retailer was judged to be “useless.” Whoops.
When asked about the pointless piece of kit, Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) spokesperson Linda Bouchard Linda Bouchard “didn’t seem overly concerned.” She claimed that the tool, while useless, promoted awareness about responsible alcohol consumption, providing a perfect example of why spokespeople warrant large salaries.
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Here in Ontario, we have a 2 month old baby clinging to life. Her 22 year old mother was DOA. The drunk in a Mercedes rear ended her Ford Escape. Last night a kid with a restricted , 0 alcohol license tried to make a left turn on a city street. at about 40 MPH. He managed to kill his buddy, and put a 20 year old young lady in intensive care. Over the course of the weekend the OPP laid 104 impaired charges. The GTA Regional police forces laid another 100 or so. They caught a dude doing 187 KPH {100 mph} on the 400 ...$hit faced drunk. Another moron drove around a barricade, set up for the Santa Clause parade, with four empty beer cans in his car. Last weekend was not a holiday weekend, in Canada. So a few idiots figure you can buy a Breathalyzer from Wall Mart, then suck back a few "tall boys" and all will be well ? Well.. i guess if the rest of us are lucky, the cops will nail their sorry butts to the wall. If were not lucky?? Some poor innocent will pay the price.. Personally, i cab it ,if i know i will be drinking. I carry 3 major credit cards, and $50 bucks tucked in the back of my wallet. As much as i care for my car , i will leave it parked anywhere, before i get behind the wheel. I couldn't give a rats a$$ about the legal consequences of an Impaired charge. However, living the rest of my life knowing that i killed ,or maimed an innocent, would be far more than this old boy could deal with
This. A common issue here in the States -- if not elsewhere -- is the after office "Holiday Party" where alcohol is served. Some years ago, here in DC, an associate attorney at a major downtown law firm killed a pedestrian walking along the roadside on a suburban Virginia road, where the speed limit is, IIRC, 30 mph. I don't think there is (or was) a sidewalk and there wasn't much of a shoulder where the victim was struck; and it's a two-lane road with a fair amount of traffic. So, that's precisely the kind of situation that an impaired driver would have difficulty handling. Worse, the driver fled the scene of the accident (she claimed she didn't know she had hit anyone!) but was later caught and successfully prosecuted (for more than DUI or hit-and-run). If memory serves, the victim's estate (or relatives) sued not only the driver but also the law firm. My firm never had an after work Holiday Party; we had a Holiday Dinner for everyone -- lawyers and staff. But the alcohol served was not some sweet, alcoholic punch or eggnog. Rather it was your choice of wine with dinner and the amount was rationed to about two glasses per guest.