Mandatory Alcohol Breath Test

Sully

A quick question.. Since the law came in about mandatory alcohol breath tests, I have been stopped a few times at checkpoints and tested. I dont drink, so its always zero. However, yesterday the Guard (first time ever) gave me the rubbish from the reading. The plastic tubing - he told me to keep it as a "souvenir". Is this the norm? He was a nice chap but I didnt particularly want to carry the Guards rubbish.

Are we now to take the tube/plastic covering when the test is completed or if told, can we refuse without grief?

spartacus93

Sully wrote: »

A quick question.. Since the law came in about mandatory alcohol breath tests, I have been stopped a few times at checkpoints and tested. I dont drink, so its always zero. However, yesterday the Guard (first time ever) gave me the rubbish from the reading. The plastic tubing - he told me to keep it as a "souvenir". Is this the norm? He was a nice chap but I didnt particularly want to carry the Guards rubbish.

Are we now to take the tube/plastic covering when the test is completed or if told, can we refuse without grief?

I'd say it was just him trying to be friendly!

I've been tested a few times and was never offered a souvenir :eek:

Tragedy

Sounds like he was just being nice to be honest

Sully

Ya he was a sound bloke but I didn't want the Fecking thing! Didn't want to refuse to avoid grief.

Chris Peak

It's really just to show he's not using the same tube on everybody he stops.

The second time I was tested the girl cop showed that she was tearing open a new one.
The first guy, a few months previously, just offered it already attached and asked me to blow. When I asked him if it was a new one, he said " Oh yeah, sorry. I'll get you one now". EEWWW!

Guy:Incognito

Chris Peak wrote: »

The first guy, a few months previously, just offered it already attached and asked me to blow. When I asked him if it was a new one, he said " Oh yeah, sorry. I'll get you one now". EEWWW!

Your loss. It's a well known fact they leave the previous one on if it was a sexy female that got tested.:)

Darragh29

Sully wrote: »

A quick question.. Since the law came in about mandatory alcohol breath tests, I have been stopped a few times at checkpoints and tested. I dont drink, so its always zero. However, yesterday the Guard (first time ever) gave me the rubbish from the reading. The plastic tubing - he told me to keep it as a "souvenir". Is this the norm? He was a nice chap but I didnt particularly want to carry the Guards rubbish.

Are we now to take the tube/plastic covering when the test is completed or if told, can we refuse without grief?

You can tell him to shove it up his arse once you don't refuse to give a breath sample!

Whitewater-AGS

Its a good habit for members to develope, I always ask the person i've stopped to take the mouth piece for two reasons, the first and most important one being I dont know who you are or what you have or haven't got or where your mouth has just been so I dont wanna touch that mouth piece and secondly you normally get a laugh from giving them the "souvenir" line.

The-Game

Sully wrote: »

A quick question.. Since the law came in about mandatory alcohol breath tests, I have been stopped a few times at checkpoints and tested. I dont drink, so its always zero. However, yesterday the Guard (first time ever) gave me the rubbish from the reading. The plastic tubing - he told me to keep it as a "souvenir". Is this the norm? He was a nice chap but I didnt particularly want to carry the Guards rubbish.

Are we now to take the tube/plastic covering when the test is completed or if told, can we refuse without grief?

The 3 times i got done at check points i was given the "souvenir" i just thought it was the norm!! Means at least its a new one!

Darragh29

Whitewater-AGS wrote: »

Its a good habit for members to develope, I always ask the person i've stopped to take the mouth piece for two reasons, the first and most important one being I dont know who you are or what you have or haven't got or where your mouth has just been so I dont wanna touch that mouth piece and secondly you normally get a laugh from giving them the "souvenir" line.

I got stopped a week ago and had my first breath test. I was out with mates and they were saying I should have a bottle of Heineken or Millar. Anyway I had 2 cokes and dropped the lads off to another pub but when I drove into the checkpoint around the corner from the second pub, somehow I had my main beam lights on by accident and the Garda thought I had drink on me because of this. He stuck his head into the car and said he could smell alcohol (my mates had just got out of the car a minute previously and had a few pints on them), so I got a breath test and it came back zero.

Was very glad I didn't have the bottle of beer! Would have been sh*tting myself if I did...

Sully

Whitewater-AGS wrote: »

Its a good habit for members to develope, I always ask the person i've stopped to take the mouth piece for two reasons, the first and most important one being I dont know who you are or what you have or haven't got or where your mouth has just been so I dont wanna touch that mouth piece and secondly you normally get a laugh from giving them the "souvenir" line.

That makes sense I guess. First time they ever gave it, he was a sound chap. Im nearly sure he did the same test ages ago outside the hospital and was chatting to me asking was I going into work etc. (tho some do that as a further test, I believe he was just being nice)

Wertz

So if you proceed to drop your souvenir on the ground before getting back in your vehicle, do you get done with a fine for littering as well? :pac:

The UK cops (at least the ones on Road Wars) have been doing this for ages...

Gary ITR

Darragh29 wrote: »

You can tell him to shove it up his arse once you don't refuse to give a breath sample!

Somehow I think you wouldn't get away too lightly with that

bryanmurr

i let the driver take it from a hygiene point of view and also that it will serve as a reminder to the driver not to drink and drive if they have it in the car, might stick in the mind a bit longer.

or else to show the mates that havent been stopped and possibly discourage them

Sully

LOL. Cant see how a tube will discourage anyone from drink driving

Bee

Whitewater-AGS wrote: »

Its a good habit for members to develope, I always ask the person i've stopped to take the mouth piece for two reasons, the first and most important one being I dont know who you are or what you have or haven't got or where your mouth has just been so I dont wanna touch that mouth piece and secondly you normally get a laugh from giving them the "souvenir" line.

I don't blame a Garda wanting to dump the used item straight away.

The alcohol breath testing device on medical grounds should be sterilised for every use!!!. Not just a new plastic blow tube being offered!

I do think it is a thundering disgrace that the idiot "powers that be" who plan these things do not have a safety medical standard waste disposal bin for potentially hazardous materials i.e. the same that is found in many hospitals.

A variety of disease-causing bacteria and viruses are carried in saliva which can then be transmitted by inhalation of droplets of saliva that leave the mouth when an infected person talks or simply opens his/her mouth, or by actual contact with saliva of which residues remain on the Breath tester from the previous user. I am talking about droplets on the Tester itself adjacent to to where the tube is replaced.

Just some of the more potent diseases that are transmitted by droplets are
pulmonary tuberculosis, Hepatitis A & B, Meningococcemia, some sexually transmitted diseases (but luckily, not AIDS), whooping cough (though this is seldom seen nowadays), and mumps arather nasty disease with bad complications for male adults.

If the "swine flu" does break out, the Alcohol testers should be binned unless they are sterilised each and every time.

I would advise any member of the public to be aware of the above and to ensure the Garda hold the unit at all time, hopefully in a gloved hand and I would also suggest a new glove should be used each time as well.

What a digusting and dangerous way to test the public.

Poor fools the Gardai who have to use them constantly

CharlieCroker

Bee wrote: »

I do think it is a thundering disgrace that the idiot "powers that be" who plan these things do not have a safety medical standard waste disposal bin for potentially hazardous materials i.e. the same that is found in many hospitals.

Traffic Corp do have these Bio-hazard yellow bins in a lot of their patrol cars, (the bigger ones anyway - jeeps and people carriers)

Darragh29

Bee wrote: »

I don't blame a Garda wanting to dump the used item straight away.

The alcohol breath testing device on medical grounds should be sterilised for every use!!!. Not just a new plastic blow tube being offered!

I do think it is a thundering disgrace that the idiot "powers that be" who plan these things do not have a safety medical standard waste disposal bin for potentially hazardous materials i.e. the same that is found in many hospitals.

A variety of disease-causing bacteria and viruses are carried in saliva which can then be transmitted by inhalation of droplets of saliva that leave the mouth when an infected person talks or simply opens his/her mouth, or by actual contact with saliva of which residues remain on the Breath tester from the previous user. I am talking about droplets on the Tester itself adjacent to to where the tube is replaced.

Just some of the more potent diseases that are transmitted by droplets are
pulmonary tuberculosis, Hepatitis A & B, Meningococcemia, some sexually transmitted diseases (but luckily, not AIDS), whooping cough (though this is seldom seen nowadays), and mumps arather nasty disease with bad complications for male adults.

If the "swine flu" does break out, the Alcohol testers should be binned unless they are sterilised each and every time.

I would advise any member of the public to be aware of the above and to ensure the Garda hold the unit at all time, hopefully in a gloved hand and I would also suggest a new glove should be used each time as well.

What a digusting and dangerous way to test the public.

Poor fools the Gardai who have to use them constantly

Jesus Christ. :rolleyes: You have more of a chance picking up something from handling a ten Euro note...