Alcometer

I once had friend who told me his grandfather used to think drinking and driving meant consuming hard liquor like whiskey or vodka and then getting behind the wheel. It was perfectly okay to have a six-pack of your favorite brew with you in the car, because this was not really drinking and driving. If you asked the average Joe on the street today if this was reasonable, the least you would get would be a rude comment and a hard look. Attitudes toward drinking and driving have changed drastically over the past few decades, all completely for the better. An alcometer is a great way to measure your present blood alcohol content (BAC) on your own so that law enforcement doesn't have to do it for you later if you make the unwise decision of operating a motor vehicle while you're under the influence. In fact consumer-based breathalyzers are becoming more widely used by individuals and the bars they frequent.

There is a close relation between alcohol concentrations in the breath and the level of alcohol in the blood stream. The ratio of alcohol concentration in the breath compared to that in the blood is 2,100:1. This basically means 2,100 milliliters of lung air contains the same amount of alcohol as 1 milliliter of blood. Early research quickly developed this common ratio for measuring BAC with many of the devices used today. Alcometers have become such a commonly recognized set of devices that it's easy to forget the level of sophistication and engineering that has gone into producing these helpful tools. Some devices use internal chemical reactions to measure BAC, others use infrared sensors, and newer devices use internal fuel cells that work off the presence of tiny platinum plates.

Here are some helpful tips to keep in mind when operating and alcometer:

• Always wait at least twenty minutes after you've taken your last drink before you give an alcometer sample. Some instructions suggest fifteen minutes, but twenty is safer for a reliable result. The reason is that alcohol in mouth can interfere with the reading and give a false high BAC.
• The measure for driving under the influence is an observable level of impairment, i.e. swerving while driving, inability to walk strait, slurred speech, etc. This is the standard under which police officers operate, so having a low BAC will not necessarily save you from a DUI charge. With this in mind, use an alcometer as a guide only. If you or a friend blow a low BAC on the device but you still appear intoxicated, take a few more hours to sober up.
• Blood is the only true measure of BAC percentage, so this is further rationale for using the alcometer as a guide only. Chances are your true BAC will be higher than what the device shows on the display.
• Do not use an alcometer in close proximity to radios, cell phones, or other devices that give off or receive radio frequencies. Radio waves can cause many breathalyzer devices to not function properly.

If you find yourself in the unlucky predicament of being pulled over by the police and you've had a few drinks prior to driving, the officer who approaches your driver's window quite likely will ask you to blow into an alcometer if he/she suspects you may have been driving while intoxicated. Under the "admin per se" laws in most states in the US, just being on the road implies your consent to subject yourself to an alcohol screening - be it by breath or blood. If a police officer pulls you over under suspicion that you may be operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs and you refuse either one of these tests, then you are guaranteed and automatic driver license suspension.

If you think there is some magic trick to throw off the alcometer readings and get out of a DUI, forget about it. Your BAC generally peaks at about thirty minutes after you take your last drink and its a linear progression to sobriety after that no matter what extreme measures you may take - i.e. running, pucking, burping, etc. The moral of the story here - don't drink and drive or if you do drink use an alcometer or breathalyzer machine to check your BAC before getting behind the wheel.