Recommend a breathalyzer
Discussion
This is more for the morning after to use as a guide, and mainly for my other half as she can't seem to keep track of how much she had the night before.
This isn't a usual thing; she took her team out for a team building day and i think it went quite well lol - It just made me think it would be useful to have one of these gadgets in the house in case a similar scenario crops up in future.
She worked from home today, just to be on the safe side.
Are these mostly gimmicks or can you get some useful readings from them?
This isn't a usual thing; she took her team out for a team building day and i think it went quite well lol - It just made me think it would be useful to have one of these gadgets in the house in case a similar scenario crops up in future.
She worked from home today, just to be on the safe side.
Are these mostly gimmicks or can you get some useful readings from them?
BigShick said:
If you look on Amazon there was one that won the tests in Auto Express or Car Buyer or summet. About £45.. but I was put off a bit when it said it had to be recalibrated yearly I think (this is all from memory so I might be wrong)
Anything has to be calibrated if precise readings are required.Bear in mind though if it does lose calibration will likely only be a % of error.
I've got one thats 2 or 3 years old which I use for the same morning after check, think I might get it calibrated just to be safe but wouldn't bother getting it done all the time.
What is your budget? If it's under about £50 and/or the thing can't be re-calibrated it's a toy.
Personal breathalysers range from toys to pro quality (with prices to match). Things to look for are the type of sensor - fuel cell is best, the larger the surace area the better. The measurements will drift over time so an annual calibration is necessary to keep/check accuracy.
AlcoSense do a range of good quality devices.
Personal breathalysers range from toys to pro quality (with prices to match). Things to look for are the type of sensor - fuel cell is best, the larger the surace area the better. The measurements will drift over time so an annual calibration is necessary to keep/check accuracy.
AlcoSense do a range of good quality devices.
I have got a "which" recommended one I think and I abandoned it. It needs to be used frequently or "activated" with a procedure using watered down alcohol. Far too much faff as you would really need to do it prior to the morning after as it were.
Even when practising with it though, I didn't really believe it. I could drink much more than made sense before it said I was over the limit. Then on one morning after it said no alcohol and 12 months later after the same xmas party, similar amount drunk it said I was way over before breakfast, but 0 after breakfast.
Not reliable enough to be trusted in my view.
Bert
Even when practising with it though, I didn't really believe it. I could drink much more than made sense before it said I was over the limit. Then on one morning after it said no alcohol and 12 months later after the same xmas party, similar amount drunk it said I was way over before breakfast, but 0 after breakfast.
Not reliable enough to be trusted in my view.
Bert
I bought the original AlcoSense lite and always seemed to broadly align with what I would expect when I tested it, but of course never had a true result available to compare. I haven't had a need to use it in the last few years but was a useful gauge when I was doing some road trips and might want to double check the morning after that I was well below the limit or preferably blow zero.
Bobtherallyfan said:
Surely if you feel the need to test yourself, you shouldn’t be driving in any circumstance. Even if you are under the legal limit, you still have alcohol in your system to a level you are clearly concerned about.
The responsible thing to do if you've enjoyed a few brews is to check your BAC is compliant, regardless of how you feel.If I didn't drive because i felt crappy early in the morning I wouldn't go to work most of the time regardless of alcohol consumed!
Bobtherallyfan said:
Surely if you feel the need to test yourself, you shouldn’t be driving in any circumstance. Even if you are under the legal limit, you still have alcohol in your system to a level you are clearly concerned about.
But how do you know? If I get together with my chum and we drink a couple of bottles of red over an evening, I'll feel a bit groggy in the mroning. but have no idea what that means. Having some info is helpful - if it is reliable.If it's something you don't make a habit of and it's only for occasional use - a few single use breathalyzers might be a better idea.
https://alcosense.co.uk/alcosense/single-use-breat...
https://alcosense.co.uk/alcosense/single-use-breat...
It’s a good Idea , I had one years ago and it was surprisingly difficult to Judge the morning after from how you felt, if I felt a rough as a badger bum then is was normally ok to drive, and if I felt great it was often negative to drive, it was the opposite of what I would have expected.
I wasn’t ever driving , is was more a curiosity thing to see if I could .
I wasn’t ever driving , is was more a curiosity thing to see if I could .
Seight_Returns said:
If it's something you don't make a habit of and it's only for occasional use - a few single use breathalyzers might be a better idea.
https://alcosense.co.uk/alcosense/single-use-breat...
This looks a much better idea than the more complex electric one I've stopped using.https://alcosense.co.uk/alcosense/single-use-breat...
Had a few cheap ones which were useless. Now i have an alcosense that is great. Its amazing the variation between people. After a night out im usually blowing zero by around 11am . My girlfriend who drinks about a third less than me regularly still blows over at 2pm.
I dont believe its fantastically accurate and will only drive once its given me a zero for two tests 20 mins apart. No science to this gap just seems like a good idea with a device that can vary a bit.
I dont believe its fantastically accurate and will only drive once its given me a zero for two tests 20 mins apart. No science to this gap just seems like a good idea with a device that can vary a bit.
Bobtherallyfan said:
Surely if you feel the need to test yourself, you shouldn’t be driving in any circumstance. Even if you are under the legal limit, you still have alcohol in your system to a level you are clearly concerned about.
Having one has shown me very clearly why it is worth having one. How you feel and what reading you get do not always align as you might expect. Also, as someone else just posted, variation between individuals is quite something. Three friends and I had the same amount of drink one night and the next morning three of us were fine and one was twice the limit. Same dinner, same drinks consumed. We all felt fine. I have an alchosense one and I am sure it is not 100% accurate, but the results I get from it seem consistent. I always do two tests half an hour or so apart before driving. I suspect my use of it could be suggested to be over-cautious, but I value my licence so I'm fine with that
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