A Personal Breathalyzer (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
After a night out with friends, you may feel fine, but you might be above the legal drunk driving limit. The easiest way to tell is to take a simple breathalyzer test.
What’s a Breathalyzer?
A breathalyzer is a device that measures how to test you alcohol content by analyzing breath from that person’s lungs. These devices don’t give a precise blood alcohol content (BAC) amount, but an estimate based on the way alcohol breaks down within the human body. Breathalyzers can be bought online for a reasonable price, so you don’t have to be in law enforcement to buy one. This will provide protection for your personal property and your driving record, and this will keep you from legal trouble.
Taking the Test
Testing yourself is easy, but there are tips to remember:
- Wait for 30 minutes after any alcoholic drink
- Avoid coffee, mints, or other food
- Blow firmly for at least five seconds
All states have adopted the legal BAC driving limit of .08. If your test results indicate that your BAC is at or near this level, don’t drive. Since breathalyzers only give an estimate, results can be off a bit. If you blow a .07 BAC, your true BAC could be as little as .04 or as high as .10.
Sober Up
If your BAC level isn’t at an acceptable level, there are things you can do to sober up, and things you may know that supposedly will help but won’t.
Truth
Alcohol levels will go down the longer you just stay in one place. BAC typically reduces at .01 every 40 minutes. If you’re over the limit by .03, you’ll need to let two hours pass. Eat something high in fructose or sucrose. Foods like sweet cereals, toaster tarts, and honey are high in fructose and sucrose. Sugary drinks like Coke and Pepsi have fructose.
Myths
There are many myths about how to sober up quickly. Drinking coffee is a common myth. Lots of coffee won’t do anything but send you to the bathroom. Exercising won’t lower your BAC, but will make you dehydrate quickly. Alcohol dehydrates the body and when you add exercise into the mix, you’re likely to become very dehydrated. The more dehydrated you are, the higher your BAC will be. Cold showers and rolling car windows down won’t help lower BAC either. While freezing temperatures are good at increasing alertness and focus, it does nothing to lower alcohol levels.
To help you stay safe, use a personal breathalyzer and take proper precautions if you’re too drunk to drive.
