BACtrack breathalyzer

WINE TALK
1

How accurate is this?

2

If you give a shit about DUI, alcohawk is the best.

3

Let me just say this again, I’ve said in other threads related to these. Any inexpensive PAS (Preliminary Alcohol Screening) device isn’t going to be as accurate as the real ones cops use. And you have to periodically accuracy-check/calibrate a PAS using a known solution to ensure it’s calibrated properly. If not, it can be way off.

You also have to administer it properly. Such as waiting at least 15 minutes from the last time you ate, drank, smoked, injested, etc.

While these will give you ball-park numbers, keep in mind they may be off by quite a bit.

If you’re interested in one that has stood up to years of legal scrutiny spend the $500+ on a real one from this company http://www.alcopro.com (no affiliation, but these are where most police departments get theirs from). Click on the Alco-Sensor tab, then on the “FIND OUT MORE” icon. Again, keep in mind you will still have to check it periodically with some expensive calibration items to ensure it stays accurate.

4

My answer to all of this is a combination of a kind wife and UBER.

5

Though many factors (i.e., age, sex, food, weight, tolerance etc.) affect alcohol absorption and thus driving impairment, your chance of getting into an accident do increase with any alcohol in your system. And in many states, even if you are under the legal limit, but you get into an accident, you will still be charged with a DUI. Also, the legal limit often means that the BAC evidence alone will get you a DUI. If you are under the limit and still erratically driving, for instance, you can still get a DUI.

It’s only a number.

My logic is this: Would I drive with a .06 with my kids in my car? NO. Would I drive my car with a .06 knowing that there are kids in other cars? NO. And if I keep going through lower limits: a .05 and .04 and so on, I also find myself saying ‘No’ a lot, and it is surprising how you basically end up near a zero tolerance on your own with no need for a breathalyzer.

k.

6

Great post.

I am a “one glass” person when I will be driving.

We have a different BACtrack model as a plaything and got to compare it with the local policemen’s rig and they lined up exactly. Our unit is not meant to have the same staying power, however, so I would not trust it over time.

With this toy, though, I can very repeatably check myself when I “feel it” from wine and get the same number consistently.

0.04% = when I want to slow it down.

I miscalculated my intake one night and hit 0.07% and got sick.

I also find that even at “one glass per hour” I will not metabolize as fast as the books say and my BAC will rise.

Fascinating toy, but Karring was spot on.

7

I bought an Alcohawk many years ago. I wanted to develop some sense for myself of what amount of drinking caused me to have what BAC, just experimenting at home. I found the readings inconsistent in a way that seemed to exceed my sense of how much variance in my BAC there would have been, and then one day, the whole thing didn’t work anymore, so I never found it that helpful of an experience. I would have liked, and still would like, to gain a better understanding of how drinking affects my BAC.

One suggestion – don’t mention to your friends that you have one. For all that there is a completely legitimate reason to want to understand BAC, people will mostly assume you have some kind of creepy problem if you tell them that.

8

[thumbs-up.gif]

9

I think most of my friends would want to test it for accuracy [snort.gif]

10

It is not accurate at all. I bought one a couple years ago.
Waste if money unless you just want a novelty or gag gift.