Driving Under the Influence - Legally

So...a friend of mine just had his life turned upside-down by two back to back DUI's recently. They were all under suspect circumstances, meaning he didn't crash his car, hurt someone, hop the curb etc. Both were related to some other moving violation, then when asked, he fessed up. Given the fact that these days it's better to rob a bank than to suffer the humiliation and punishment related to two DUI's, I thought I'd take a cue from him and buy a breathalyzer.

I drink and drive occasionally, and so do you. It's time to manage this better, not only to avoid the rath of the law, but for all those other good reasons Mother's Against Drunk Driving espouse so well.

Off to Alcohol Controls and their AlcAlert. The cost of the breathalyzer was 39.95 plus 7.00 for shipping. Not too bad considering what kind of damage this could prevent to yourself and others. I received my breathalyzer in two days and immediately began putting it to the test. I immediately embarked on a few test cases, and here's what I found.

Blow 1

As soon as I unwrapped the package and glanced at the instructions I started drinking. One of the recommendations is that you wait 20-30 minutes before you blow for a more accurate reading. The reason for this is that, if you take a big gulp, it'll pick up the alcohol residing in your mouth and the reading will be incorrectly higher. Of course, I tested this and it's true. But in the end, the more I drank, the higher it went, and I was satisfied with my purchase.

Blow 2

One day after work, met up with some colleagues and enjoyed two large (don't know exactly the oz.'s) Truman Pilsner's. We also had some appetizers as well...later I scarfed down a brat. Time to go home...weeeeeee.... I get in the car and blow... .04! Cool, easily within the limit. On the way home, I blow, and blow and blow. .04, .06, .05, .06.. uh oh....am I creeping up? The way you hold the breathalyzer, how hard you blow, and the angle of the dangle all seem to impact the reading slightly. But I know I'm in a range. I blow again, .05 and again, .05 ....yeah! Come and get me Cop'er! Whooh! I drive home with confidence, legally under the influence at .05, thank you AlcAlert!

Blow 3

I meet up with my DUI friend for a couple, he just got sentenced on his first DUI and needs to deliberate. I imbibe two large Weiss beers. Two seems to put me in a good place without going over, so I stop at two. This time, no food. Time to go and blow... .09! ? That can't be! Maybe I didn't wait the necessary 20 minutes. I try again... .09! Hmmm... I wait a minute. .08...there we go. Right on the line. I'm sure if I start taking off it'll calm down. Eh, why did I buy this thing again? Fine, I'll wait it out. .08, .09, .10, .09, .10. Finally, after an hour and a half, which seemed like a lifetime, I was back in business. I drive home with confidence after several blows of .06. Shooooooooooooooo.....

Conclusions

So, every situation is different and what you eat while you drink matters. If you haven't bought one yet, you should consider it. Although the readings bounce around from time to time, when you take the norm, it gives you a good read on where you are. I was surprised to find out that it really doesn't take much to put you in the red. .08 is nothing, but it's also illegal. It's important to know if you're riding the curve up, or if you're on the way down. I always test multiple times to make sure. If you don't want to spend the $40+, put it on your list, they make great stocking stuffers.

Cheers and safe travels.