Have you a DIY-breathalyser in your own car

kerry4sam

Considering the name Ireland has for being 'fond of the drink' , how come it's not actually mandatory to have DIY-portable-breathalysers in the cars like they have in some countries on the Continent?!
I mean, you can buy them for a few euro in any MotorFactors and testing yourself before setting off could save in many ways.

I have a few in my own car, but only used one once before I set off on a journey.

Are they common i.e. have you a DIY-breathalyser in your own car?

Just me bring curious considering the many stories; postings; articles on drink-driving convictions we have.

Thanks,
kerry4sam

power pants

No.

Dont think it would make that much of a difference either. I bet once people are in a car they assume they are fine to risk it or too much an inconvenience to leave the car so will proceed anyway

Dozer Dave

Don't drink and drive its pretty simple actually.

_Brian

i know in France the idea of carrying breathalisers is so you can use it if stopped by their police, no so you can drink away and test yourself before setting off..

ironclaw

LIGHTNING wrote: »

It's not black and white as that. People go to bed after a nights drinking and get up for work the next day and assume they are fine.

Agreed but if someone is drinking that heavily and has work the next day, they have far bigger issues. You'd be putting down over a bottle of wine in the sitting (Assuming 8 units per bottle and 8 hours sleep, you'd 'just' be sober)

Dozer Dave

LIGHTNING wrote: »

It's not black and white as that. People go to bed after a nights drinking and get up for work the next day and assume they are fine.

It is really, do not go on the sauce work nights. If you want to go on the tear do it at the weekend or when you are off.

ironclaw

Dozer Dave wrote: »

It is really, do not go on the sauce work nights. If you want to go on the tear do it at the weekend or when you are off.

Well, to be fair, there are cases where someone would go to a work night on Friday and be up early on the Saturday morning to go somewhere else having not suitably slept or worn off the effects. People forget that sleep deprivation is as if not worse than being drunk, combine the two for a truly winning combination

Sheep Lover

I don't need a breathalyser to determine if I am coherent enough to drive, I use my own common sense. Anything under 6 pints and I'm fine.

biko

I don't need a breathalyser as I don't drink any alcohol before driving.
And if I did drink alcohol I wouldn't need a breathalyser to tell me I shouldn't be driving.

challengemaster

Mandatory to have it in the car, but not mandatory to use it. Not much use a breathalyzer sitting in the glove box while Jimmy drives home after a few pints.

Attitudes are the problem, introducing something like this won't change them. Plenty of people still see nothing wrong with driving home from the pub, and plenty of Gardaí are happy to let them. That's the real problem.

Dozer Dave

LIGHTNING wrote: »

Well it seems the fun police are here folks!

If you are consuming so much alcohol the night before work that you are worried you may be over the limit in the morning you need to seek help.

9935452

kerry4sam wrote: »

Considering the name Ireland has for being 'fond of the drink' , how come it's not actually mandatory to have DIY-portable-breathalysers in the cars like they have in some countries on the Continent?!
I mean, you can buy them for a few euro in any MotorFactors and testing yourself before setting off could save in many ways.

I have a few in my own car, but only used one once before I set off on a journey.

Are they common i.e. have you a DIY-breathalyser in your own car?

Just me bring curious considering the many stories; postings; articles on drink-driving convictions we have.

Thanks,
kerry4sam

I was reading about breathalysers in a magazine (could be car mechanics) at one stage . The problem with most of them is they arent accurate enough to make sure you are under the limit. Testing 5 or 6 different cheap ones all brought different results. Which is no good if you are relying on one to tell you that you are under the limit.

I do believe that you dont drink and drive but would be interested to know/see how bad the results would be the morning after a night out.

joujoujou

Don't need one.

Never drink and drive.

osheen

Look at the main roads out of kilkenny any Sunday and watch all the D reg cars getting pulled on their way home from stag/hen weekends .
most of them would have had 7 or eight hour sleep and a big breakfast but still get caught out.

Del2005

kerry4sam wrote: »

Considering the name Ireland has for being 'fond of the drink' , how come it's not actually mandatory to have DIY-portable-breathalysers in the cars like they have in some countries on the Continent?!
I mean, you can buy them for a few euro in any MotorFactors and testing yourself before setting off could save in many ways.

I have a few in my own car, but only used one once before I set off on a journey.

Are they common i.e. have you a DIY-breathalyser in your own car?

Just me bring curious considering the many stories; postings; articles on drink-driving convictions we have.

Thanks,
kerry4sam

The French never brought in the law re carrying breathalysers and the fine was the same as purchasing them, the flaw in their idea was that if you used you're breathalyser to prove to yourself that you where below the limit then you couldn't drive as you'd be down to 1 breathalyser.

TBH if you need a breathalyser to tell you if your legal to drive then you probably shouldn't drive anyway as there is still alcohol in your system which affects your ability to drive, so unless you blow zero you shouldn't drive and you'll know yourself when you're there.

kerry4sam

^^^ Thanks for the replies so far.

Tell me this though, would it be seen as some sort of a deterrent though? Just look here alone at the NCT threads & the almost panic-like stance of some at not being able to get an appointment and the thought of being caught.

How come that same deterrent just ain't there to the same extent for drink-driving.
How about if
~ carrying a DIY-breathalyser was mandatory;
~ you could be pulled at any point; anywhere and asked to produce & use it
~ if you fail to show one, FCPN
~ brought to nearest station for the test in there and either pass/fail and result same as now.

I mean, how come we are relying on an already pushed-to-the-brink force to have sufficient breathalysers in their own cars to use;
Would it not make life somewhat easier for someone somewhere if the initial onus was pushed onto the drivers to have on them; in a dashboard for eg.

It just seems at present, so long as you stay within the white lines; so long as you don't do anything to make you stand out on the roads; you are okay and deemed to be okay, when some could well be over the legal limit.

Would something like that be a deterrent; or would it make any difference at all to the current lax approach taken by some people.

Just curious,
Thanks Again,
kerry4sam

Dozer Dave

Proposing drivers should have a breathaliser by law in their car is one hell of a nonsensical suggestion.

TrailerBob

I have a pair in the glovebox, but only because they're a legal requirement for driving in France. Have been every year for the past 5, so they've never left....

Have never, and would never D&D, but the morning after thing is a place where you could be caught out given the right circumstances..

challengemaster

kerry4sam wrote: »

^^^ Thanks for the replies so far.

Tell me this though, would it be seen as some sort of a deterrent though?

What about it is a deterrent?

~ carrying a DIY-breathalyser was mandatory;

Doesn't stop someone drink driving.

~ you could be pulled at any point; anywhere and asked to produce & use it

This doesn't really change anything except you're now being tested with inferior uncalibrated equipment. And you've just used your breathalyzer, so you are now in breach of mandatory carrying - so get an FCPN.

~ if you fail to show one, FCPN

Gardaí don't enforce the majority of the laws already in place. Adding more doesn't change this.

~ brought to nearest station for the test in there and either pass/fail and result same as now.

Again, so nothing changes. There's no extra deterrent there - it is literally a money making scheme. If anything, it's the opposite of a deterrent. Allowing people to use inaccurate and uncalibrated devices of their own producing means they're more likely to attempt to drive if they're borderline.

CiniO

TrailerBob wrote: »

I have a pair in the glovebox, but only because they're a legal requirement for driving in France. .

I don't think they are.

CiniO

kerry4sam wrote: »

How about if
~ carrying a DIY-breathalyser was mandatory;
~ you could be pulled at any point; anywhere and asked to produce & use it
~ if you fail to show one, FCPN
~ brought to nearest station for the test in there and either pass/fail and result same as now.

I mean, how come we are relying on an already pushed-to-the-brink force to have sufficient breathalysers in their own cars to use;

If they want to provide road side alcohol checks, they should equip themselves with reasonable breathalysing equipment.

Would it not make life somewhat easier for someone somewhere if the initial onus was pushed onto the drivers to have on them; in a dashboard for eg.

No

It just seems at present, so long as you stay within the white lines; so long as you don't do anything to make you stand out on the roads; you are okay and deemed to be okay, when some could well be over the legal limit.

That's because there isn't enough mandatory alcohol check points. There should be way more in completely random places, especially in rural Ireland.
But DIY brethalysers are not going to solve this problem.

Del2005

kerry4sam wrote: »

^^^ Thanks for the replies so far.

Tell me this though, would it be seen as some sort of a deterrent though? Just look here alone at the NCT threads & the almost panic-like stance of some at not being able to get an appointment and the thought of being caught.

How come that same deterrent just ain't there to the same extent for drink-driving.
How about if
~ carrying a DIY-breathalyser was mandatory;
~ you could be pulled at any point; anywhere and asked to produce & use it
~ if you fail to show one, FCPN
~ brought to nearest station for the test in there and either pass/fail and result same as now.

I mean, how come we are relying on an already pushed-to-the-brink force to have sufficient breathalysers in their own cars to use;
Would it not make life somewhat easier for someone somewhere if the initial onus was pushed onto the drivers to have on them; in a dashboard for eg.

It just seems at present, so long as you stay within the white lines; so long as you don't do anything to make you stand out on the roads; you are okay and deemed to be okay, when some could well be over the legal limit.

Would something like that be a deterrent; or would it make any difference at all to the current lax approach taken by some people.

Just curious,
Thanks Again,
kerry4sam

Carrying your own breathalyser and it being used by the Gardaí as the road side check is just asking for trouble as the first thing people will do is make it so that they always show under, everything can be hacked theses days.

The current problem with DUI is lack of enforcement of our existing laws never mind introducing new laws we won't enforce. The current laws are enough of a deterrent if they used them, why is there never a random check point outside a pub?, as once you are caught it's an near instant ban.

The thing is that it's usually only people under the influence, of not just alcohol!!, who don't stay within the lines or maintain road position, I watch too many cop shows.

TrailerBob

CiniO wrote: »

I don't think they are.

It's a funny one, technically they are a legal requirement, but the fine for not having them was never enacted. So you can't be done so to speak, but for the sake of 7 quid I'm happier to avoid the conversation with a gendarme

stefanovich

Sheep Lover wrote: »

I don't need a breathalyser to determine if I am coherent enough to drive, I use my own common sense. Anything under 6 pints and I'm fine.

Limbo123

I wouldnt trust a breathlyser with my licence. Especially the ones you see in petrol stations or on ebay for a fiver.
If i have a good drink, i dont even look at my car the following day. It is just not worth the risk.

Jesus.

ironclaw wrote: »

Agreed but if someone is drinking that heavily and has work the next day, they have far bigger issues. You'd be putting down over a bottle of wine in the sitting (Assuming 8 units per bottle and 8 hours sleep, you'd 'just' be sober)

Are you serious? If someone drinks a bottle of wine on a special occasion (these events often fall during the week) "they have far bigger issues"???

Jesus.

kerry4sam wrote: »

It just seems at present, so long as you stay within the white lines; so long as you don't do anything to make you stand out on the roads; you are okay and deemed to be okay, when some could well be over the legal limit.Would something like that be a deterrent; or would it make any difference at all to the current lax approach taken by some people.

I know these kinds of opinions are like a red rag to a bull on this Board but the fact is that some people drinking two pints and sauntering down the road are far safer drivers than some people driving stone cold sober. Yes they may well be slightly over the limit but there's a belief that as soon as one drop of alcohol passes anyone's lips they turn into a fire breathing maniac ready to mow down everyone in their path once they get into their car. Its simply not the case.

Someone mentioned on here the other day that Ireland's social attitude toward drink driving is much more strict than a lot of other places and he mentioned Italy for example. If you drink any amount of alcohol and drive you run a risk of getting caught and that's your choice. But there's a vast difference to some middle aged man having two pints in the evening and driving home compared to a young lad getting plastered and staggering into his car. That much is quite obvious.

The former is still taking a chance though and its a chance that he could end up losing his licence.

Dozer Dave

LIGHTNING wrote: »

Well you sound like lots of fun. The legal limit is what two pints? So your telling me that people who have two pints on a week day need to seek help? Would you cop on.

You are the one that needs to cop on, you stated that one may be over the limit the morning after a nights drinking and now changing your posts to suit your argument that its only two pints. Stick by your posts now.

Zascar

I've seen this site before http://www.irishbreathalyzershop.ie/ and thought about buying one. I sometimes have one drink but would never have more than that -and I usually wait an hour or so before driving. Would be handy to have a gizmo that's accurate to make sure you are not over the limit. But some of these are very expensive, how much do you have to spend to get a good one?

Spook_ie

Main problem I think with DIY breath checks is the encouragement to drink to a limit rather than not drink and drive.

Asmooh

Don't drink during the week or Sunday.
Simple.

tvc15

Asmooh wrote: »

Don't drink during the week or Sunday.
Simple.

It's so simple, instead of driving just take your high horse to work if you have been in the presence of alcohol in the past week

kerry4sam

This thread was started by me with an ulterior motive. It actually derived from here. Apologies for not stating that from the outset.
I just cannot fathom the notion of drink-driving in this day & age with so much more activity on our roads than decades gone by where it was common and deemed more acceptable.
Times have changed & moved on so much now; so much more activity on our roads now; a Police Force who can't be everywhere doing everything that is under their remit.
If something can be done to perhaps put some onus back onto drivers; something like this could make people think twice when they have more responsibility imposed on them;

I don't know; I'm just trying to find some way to reduce, won't say end as I'm not that naive , but reduce the numbers of drivers who feel it okay to drink more than the legal limit & take to the road with the increased activity already present. The legal limit was set for a reason; someone somewhere felt that limit was necessary and nothing higher <- whether rightly or wrongly won't be discussed by me as probably won't change.

Thanks for the replies above,
Much appreciated.

I was just curious about whether something else could be done,
Thanks Again for taking the time to reply with your opinions,
kerry4sam

challengemaster

kerry4sam wrote: »

a Police Force who can't be everywhere doing everything that is under their remit.

IMHO a police force that don't want to bother doing anything supposedly under their remit.

Anecdotally, the local station is within 1 mile of about 20 pubs in the town. Come friday-sunday around midnight, the town is full of cars parked outside every single one of these establishments. Come 4am, almost no cars are parked there. I've never once seen a checkpoint outside the pubs at closing time.

but reduce the numbers of drivers who feel it okay to drink more than the legal limit & take to the road with the increased activity already present. The legal limit was set for a reason; someone somewhere felt that limit was necessary and nothing higher

The reason drivers feel its okay to drink and drive is because there's almost no enforcement of the majority of traffic laws and no garda presence where it matters. So much so I'm genuinely surprised any time I see a checkpoint (which has been about once in 3 years).

Dozer Dave

LIGHTNING wrote: »

I suggest you re-read my posts. At this stage I think your either trolling or an idiot. Neither of which I am going to waste any more time on.

/Leaving thread

Look if you are drinking so much alcohol on work nights that you need a breathalyser in the morning to know if its safe to drive you need help. Calling some one a troll or an idiot is pure childish, grow up. Using your mod powers to get personal isn't on.

/Leaving thread.

CiniO

Dozer Dave wrote: »

Look if you are drinking so much alcohol on work nights that you need a breathalyser in the morning to know if its safe to drive you need help. Calling some one a troll or an idiot is pure childish, grow up. Using your mod powers to get personal isn't on.

Someone of short height and small weight, who drinks 3 pints in the evening (say finish at midnight) might be still over the limit at 7am.
And if lower limit applies (20mg) to that person, they might be still over the limit at 9am or even 10am.

emigrate2012

Listen,unless it's some type of alco-lock device (is he can't start the car if over the limit) which would have to be regularly calibrated, the point is mute.
In my regular haunt,I'd say at LEAST 40/60% of the regular drinkers hav eee at minimum 3+ pints before leaving, and that's extremely conservative.

Plus alcohol tolerance plays a massive part in this,I've known people to have been bagged 30 mins after drinking 3 pints and been let continue on,even though the garda knew well he had been drinking,it's not a cut and dried issue.

I don't commend or condone it but it's a matter of condition

Rip me outta of it,but I'd say a lot of peopled have taken a lift from someone w without realizing they had a heap on board.conditing counts for a lot.

Dozer Dave

CiniO wrote: »

Someone of short height and small weight, who drinks 3 pints in the evening (say finish at midnight) might be still over the limit at 7am.
And if lower limit applies (20mg) to that person, they might be still over the limit at 9am or even 10am.

They would have to horse down the 3 pints in one go at 23.55pm me thinks.

coylemj

emigrate2012 wrote: »

Plus alcohol tolerance plays a massive part in this,I've known people to have been bagged 30 mins after drinking 3 pints and been let continue on,even though the garda knew well he had been drinking,it's not a cut and dried issue.

Sorry but that's complete nonsense.

Sticking to the scientific rather than the moral issues, a person can become accustomed to consuming large quantities of alcohol to the degree that he can drink the next guy under the table and still appear to be relatively sober but what nobody can do is train his body to hide or reduce the concentration of alcohol in the breath or blood which is what the cops measure.

You say you've 'known' people to have been bagged 30 mins after drinking 3 pints and been let go, were you in the car when the cop bagged them or is this a yarn you heard in the pub the next day?

Akabusi

I know a guy (all right it was me) who was bagged at a checkpoint at 12:30pm on a Sunday afternoon and found to be over the limit. This happened many years ago in another jurisdiction. I had been out on the Saturday night until about 2 am, gotten 9 hours sleep had breakfast in the hotel and hung around until checkout time of noon. As I was over the limit I was arrested. After being processed I had to pay a fine and the police told me to go a local restaurant and get lunch and then they would check me again before giving me back my keys. I had lunch and landed back at the station at 3pm. When they checked at this time I was still over the limit. In fact I did not go back under the required driving limit until 4pm. The scary thing is how long it took for the alcohol to go through my system. Out of this experience, if I'm ever on a night out and I know I'm driving the next day firstly I'm older now and wouldn't drink to excess like in my younger days and secondly I would use the guidelines of it takes 2 hours for the body to process a pint. A test of this came 2 years ago when I came across a breath test checkpoint on my way home from a stag and I was under the limit. I'd like people to be aware that they may think they are fine to drive but before getting in a car the next they need to calculate what they drank and how long ago it was and finally if possible just don't drive the next day at all