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Why doesn't every pub have a breathalyzer?

Doc

What would you think if every licensed premises was required to provide a breathalyzer for patrons to check if they where still legally permitted to drive?

I had a look at the cost of breathalyzers to check how much they cost and there only around 70 euros! Surely every pub could afford to spend this to incentives people not to drink and drive.

Not only that but if someone was obviously too drunk to be served anymore but still demanding drink the staff could ask him to blow into the breathalyzer to prove that he wasn’t too drunk.

I really don’t understand why pubs don’t have them. I’m sure if people actually knew that they were over the limit a lot less would drive home drunk.

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Doc

MrStuffins wrote: »

You honestly have to ask this question? :rolleyes:

Well no one has answered it yet and to be honest I don’t think it would. Its one thing to drive over the limit thinking your under but its quite another to do it knowing your over.

By not having a breathalyzer you are relying on peoples judgment on if they are fit to drive and its very rear I've ever found a person who admits they cant drive after only a couple of beers. Where’s the harm in them knowing that they are over the limit.

The only person who has given me a legitimate reason why it might not work / be a good idea is smellslikeshoes regarding keeping the machine correctly calibrated.

cooltown

Doc wrote: »

Now would it cause people to drink and drive?

A group of 4 friends are out for a drink. Paul, Eric, Tony and Eoin. Paul is the designated driver. In the pub he know's there a breathalyzer o he decided just to have one drink! Paul and his friends are about to leave. Paul blow's into the breathalyzer and blow's just under the limit.
THe four lads get into the car to drive home. On the way home Paul loses control of the car killing two of his friends leaving one injured in a wheelchair for life. If the breathalyzer wasn't there. He wouldn't had any alcohol that night! The accdient may have being avoided!

DOC09UNAM

Doc wrote: »

Well no one has answered it yet and to be honest I don’t think it would. Its one thing to drive over the limit thinking your under but its quite another to do it knowing your over.

By not having a breathalyzer you are relying on peoples judgment on if they are fit to drive and its very rear I've ever found a person who admits they cant drive after only a couple of beers. Where’s the harm in them knowing that they are over the limit.

The only person who has given me a legitimate reason why it might not work / be a good idea is smellslikeshoes regarding keeping the machine correctly calibrated.

You're question has been answered several times.

It's not a great idea.

Doc

DOC09UNAM wrote: »

It would basically turn into a competition to see who can drink the most and then still be under the limit, only to be drunk, kill hundreds of people on the way home and claim to be under the limit.

Might have blown it out of proportion a small bit, still a fairly stupid idea though tbh.

This implies that people who are under the legal limit are still drunk and can’t drive which if true would mean that the legal limit was too high. Why would they set the limit at a level that still meant that drivers were unable to drive correctly?

Your argument is flawed.

DOC09UNAM

Doc wrote: »

This implies that people who are under the legal limit are still drunk and can’t drive which if true would mean that the legal limit was too high. Why would they set the limit at a level that still meant that drivers were unable to drive correctly?

Your argument is flawed.

I know people that can be plastered after 2 bottles of beer, not really a far off concept, and as I said myself, i clearly blew it out of proportion, any drink is too much, especially add if they haven't ate anything.

DONT DRINK AND DRIVE, SAVE A LIFE.

Doc

DOC09UNAM wrote: »

I know people that can be plastered after 2 bottles of beer, not really a far off concept, and as I said myself, i clearly blew it out of proportion, any drink is too much, especially add if they haven't ate anything.

In the cases you have just mentioned the person could test their level and know they were over the limit and not drive. If no test was available they might think to themselves I've only had two bottles I'll be fine and crash.

I’m not advocating drink driving at all. I have seen people many times that clamed to be under the limit that are obviously not. I think that having a breathalyzer in the pub could prevent these people driving. They are the ones who will case accidents not the people under the limit.

If I was in a pub with a friend who I thought shouldn’t drive I would say it to him if he insisted he was fine we could get him to do the breathalyzer test and prove that he was.

Have none of you been in this situation?

cooltown

JUST ONE DRINK IMPAIRS DRIVING!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atJBXp1aI-w

DOC09UNAM

Doc wrote: »

In the cases you have just mentioned the person could test their level and know they were over the limit and not drive. If no test was available they might think to themselves I've only had two bottles I'll be fine and crash.

I’m not advocating drink driving at all. I have seen people many times that clamed to be under the limit that are obviously not. I think that having a breathalyzer in the pub could prevent these people driving. They are the ones who will case accidents not the people under the limit.

If I was in a pub with a friend who I thought shouldn’t drive I would say it to him if he insisted he was fine we could get him to do the breathalyzer test and prove that he was.

Have none of you been in this situation?

nvm, it's like arguing with a wall.

Doc

cooltown wrote: »

A group of 4 friends are out for a drink. Paul, Eric, Tony and Eoin. Paul is the designated driver. In the pub he know's there a breathalyzer o he decided just to have one drink! Paul and his friends are about to leave. Paul blow's into the breathalyzer and blow's just under the limit.
THe four lads get into the car to drive home. On the way home Paul loses control of the car killing two of his friends leaving one injured in a wheelchair for life. If the breathalyzer wasn't there. He wouldn't had any alcohol that night! The accdient may have being avoided!

Again this senario asumes that the legal limit is not low enough to prevent people having acedents due to drink which begs the question as to why it is set at that level then?

A senario I have seen on many ocasions (though only once with an ending like this) would be

A group of 4 friends are out for the day. Paul, Eric, Tony and Eoin. Paul is the driver. He decided just to have a couple of drinks. Paul and his friends are about to leave but Eric dosent think Paul should drive. Paul is adiment that he isnt drunk and because of his size he is well under the limit and fine to drive. Eric, Tony and Eoin are reluctent to get in but dont fancy having to pay for a cab so the four lads get into the car to drive home.

On the way home Paul loses control of the car killing two of his friends leaving one injured in a wheelchair for life. If the breathalyzer had been there they would have known he shouldnt drive! The accdient may have being avoided!

cooltown

Doc wrote: »

Again this senario asumes that the legal limit is not low enough to prevent people having acedents due to drink which begs the question as to why it is set at that level then?

A senario I have seen on many ocasions (though only once with an ending like this) would be

A group of 4 friends are out for the day. Paul, Eric, Tony and Eoin. Paul is the driver. He decided just to have a couple of drinks. Paul and his friends are about to leave but Eric dosent think Paul should drive. Paul is adiment that he isnt drunk and because of his size he is well under the limit and fine to drive. Eric, Tony and Eoin are reluctent to get in but dont fancy having to pay for a cab so the four lads get into the car to drive home.

On the way home Paul loses control of the car killing two of his friends leaving one injured in a wheelchair for life. If the breathalyzer had been there they would have known he shouldnt drive! The accdient may have being avoided!

Ok what me and the other posters here are trying to get across to you is that if somebody decideds to be the designated driver. He enters the pub not planning to drink. He see's a sign on the wall advertising that the pub has a breathalyzer. He says I'll have one or two now! I'll be able to know wheather or not I'm over the limit and if I am. We can wait another few minutes! He blow the breathalyzer first time and passes! He goes right so lets drive home! On the way home crash happens! People die left injured for life.
If the breathalyzer wasn't availabe that night he wouldn't have drank!
I feel that the alcohol limit should be zero anyway so if I had my way the only people with breathalyzer would be the Gardaí!

Doc

cooltown wrote: »

Ok what me and the other posters here are trying to get across to you is that if somebody decideds to be the designated driver. He enters the pub not planning to drink. He see's a sign on the wall advertising that the pub has a breathalyzer. He says I'll have one or two now! I'll be able to know wheather or not I'm over the limit and if I am. We can wait another few minutes! He blow the breathalyzer first time and passes! He goes right so lets drive home! On the way home crash happens! People die left injured for life.
If the breathalyzer wasn't availabe that night he wouldn't have drank!
I feel that the alcohol limit should be zero anyway so if I had my way the only people with breathalyzer would be the Gardaí!

I understand your point of view however I still think that if it prevented anyone over the limit driving it could only be a good thing. The argument that it would encourage people to drink up to the limit although valid is less of a concern to me then the people who do not realize or are over or are not willing to admit that they are over the limit who drive home.

The point is that you can have a drink and drive and while it is still legal people will do it. Anything that could help prevent drunken people getting behind the wheel is a positive.

I also don’t think that having the breathalyzer would necessarily encourage designated drivers to drink. If I was out with a group of friends and one had agreed to be the designated driver I wouldn’t be happy if they started drinking even if they had the breathalyzer he would be taking the risk he wouldn’t pass and we all would have to get taxis back.

minidazzler

BAC is NOT a value for how drunk someone is, it's an approximation. Sometimes I can be out drinking and feel the effects after 1 pint, other times, I will drink 6 and feel fine.

People simply shouldn't drink and drive. Drinking slows your reaction times, that's the main issue.

Also, I could down 3 Rums and coke right now in quick succession and it would show up next to nothing on a breathalyser, but give it 20 mins I will be way over the limit.

Breathalysers should not be used to say it's OK to drive, they are better as a preventitive as they are currently used than as a device for enabling drink driving.

oppenheimer1

If anyone wants to have a go on one of those things, there is or at least there was one in Doyles beside Trinity College. There is a warning sticker on it saying its only for "fun" and not to drink and drive.

PCPhoto

Doc wrote: »

Again this senario asumes that the legal limit is not low enough to prevent people having acedents due to drink which begs the question as to why it is set at that level then?

A senario I have seen on many ocasions (though only once with an ending like this) would be

A group of 4 friends are out for the day. Paul, Eric, Tony and Eoin. Paul is the driver. He decided just to have a couple of drinks. Paul and his friends are about to leave but Eric dosent think Paul should drive. Paul is adiment that he isnt drunk and because of his size he is well under the limit and fine to drive. Eric, Tony and Eoin are reluctent to get in but dont fancy having to pay for a cab so the four lads get into the car to drive home.

On the way home Paul loses control of the car killing two of his friends leaving one injured in a wheelchair for life. If the breathalyzer had been there they would have known he shouldnt drive! The accdient may have being avoided!

or how about this version :

A group of 4 friends are out for the day. Paul, Eric, Tony and Eoin. Paul is the driver. He decided just to have a couple of drinks. Paul and his friends are about to leave but Eric dosent think Paul should drive. Paul is adament that he isn't drunk and because of his size he is well under the limit and fine to drive, he's a fit guy, plays rugby and football. Eric, Tony and Eoin are reluctant to get in but dont fancy having to pay for a cab so the four lads get into the car to drive home.

On the way home Paul suffers a heart attack loses control of the car killing everyone - including 56yr old retired teacher on his way back home from the shop to get milk for the kids breakfast cereal in the morning.

moral of the story - if yer gonna go yer gonna go .... if yer stupid enough to drink and drive then you are putting others lives at risk

Banned Account

The pub would just get sued by someone who was bagged and said "but the magic machine told me i was alright"

Mr.Applepie

Owwmykneecap wrote: »

That's a pretty naive view of people you have there, drunk or not.
It would instantly become a game of scoring the highest blood alcohol level.

A very fun game.

I have played this game a few years ago in my local pub. A great night was had by all.

rubadub

bluto63 wrote: »

The limit is at one drink.

Poeple have to be careful of this, it is not "one drink" (though will be on average for many people), it is a blood alcohol level. An anorexic dwarf drinking "one drink" of a strong german lager on an empty stomach would have a far higher blood alcohol level than a 30stone man drinking "one drink" -a single shot of peach schnapps ontop of his christmas dinner.

Doc wrote: »

The argument that it would encourage people to drink up to the limit although valid is less of a concern to me then the people who do not realize or are over or are not willing to admit that they are over the limit who drive home.

If they are so sure of themselves they will probably not use the machine.

I think it would be an idea to have them to refuse people drink, so a barman/bouncer can point to the device and say IT says you are over the limit and I cannot serve you -the limit higher than for driving.

There is a new breathalyzer system in the US for vending machines selling alcohol to make sure people are not drunk.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-10889329

Horse_box

I don't think it's a bad idea at all

Having one on the premises for people to use if they like is not going to cause any harm and could deter a few people from going out driving when they are slightly over the limit

rubadub

Fitzcaraldo wrote: »

The pub would just get sued by someone who was bagged and said "but the magic machine told me i was alright"

There would obviously be a disclaimer. If I downed a load of vodka and went into a gardai station and tested OK and then got caught 10mins later as over the limit I would have no comeback.

GerHankey

The reason the blood alcohol level is set above zero is to give a margin of error/make allowances for breathalyzers picking up alcohol that may be in your breath rather than your bloodstream (things like mouthwash, kissing someone who has had a drink, and sometimes even belching can make this happen) - not so you can have just the one and then drive home. Thats why all the ads say "Never Ever Drink and Drive".
I think its not a good idea to have them in pubs for two reasons. Firstly, no matter how good the publicans intentions, you are always going to have some gob****e have a drink, check his breath, and say "Ahh, sure I'm grand, I'll have another one".
The second reason is liabality; as its already been said, who wants to be the publican who has somebody think they are OK cause of a machine in their pub, only to kill somebody on the way home? Especially if ends in a lawsuit? Even with a disclaimer and no responsibility, its not a going to look good.

Irishcrx

What pub wnats the hassle of sorting out drink drivers when the guards should be doing it? They've enough problems with getting drunks outta the place at night..

congo_90

lets imagine all pubs had breathalisers. a patron has a few beers and decides to check their level. they fail and then walk outside. its late and raining. person says ah f*ck this I only had a few and drives on.

100metres down the road is a checkpoint. they check his level and report a fail. he now lies and states the barman told him he's ok. cue major legal issues and garda time wasted in court/ tax payers money not to mention the implications on the bar man taking a day off for court.

there is a very realistic scenario if pubs carried breathalisers.

this goes back to the whole being responsible for your own actions as an adult.

Run_to_da_hills

A local in Australia had these as far back as 1991, traffic light sstem when you blew into a the machine using disposible straws. Charged $1 a go and was very popular.

mconigol

cooltown wrote: »

A group of 4 friends are out for a drink. Paul, Eric, Tony and Eoin. Paul is the designated driver. In the pub he know's there a breathalyzer o he decided just to have one drink! Paul and his friends are about to leave. Paul blow's into the breathalyzer and blow's just under the limit.
THe four lads get into the car to drive home. On the way home Paul loses control of the car killing two of his friends leaving one injured in a wheelchair for life. If the breathalyzer wasn't there. He wouldn't had any alcohol that night! The accdient may have being avoided!

Seriously what a sensationalist comment! Get a grip people! You could use this type of argument with just about anything!

Warper

As a wise man once said, "if you can find your car in the car-park, youre good enough to drive it".

Jimmy Sweeney R.I.P.

Fighting Irish

stupid idea

Run_to_da_hills

Fighting Irish wrote: »

stupid idea

I would agree as one shouldn't drink and drive at all however I could see a place for these devices in hotels and other locations where people stay over night to avoid people being done the following morning.

The authorities use fuel cell breathalysers which can cost up to a grand each and are extremely accurate, any device fitted would have to equal or match them.

[Deleted User]

bluto63 wrote: »

There shouldn't be a need for these machines. The limit is at one drink. If you plan on having any more than that, leave the car at home. Don't rely on some machine to tell you what to do

You can have a few pints over the course of the night and if you are not drinking too fast you would be under the limit come the end of the night, this is one situation where it would be helpful.

Honestly the people saying that people are going out crashing and killing people after 1 or 2 drinks are deluded imo. Its people who are completely locked driving that are the problem.

Gaudizeit

There's such a stigma attached with drink driving these days that I wouldn't want to be seen blowing into a breathalyser in a pub. It would indicate that i am willing to take the risk to some extent. If you're out, don't drink. I don't see the point in having just one pint anyway.

Liam Byrne

cooltown wrote: »

A group of 4 friends are out for a drink. Paul, Eric, Tony and Eoin. Paul is the designated driver. In the pub he know's there a breathalyzer o he decided just to have one drink! Paul and his friends are about to leave. Paul blow's into the breathalyzer and blow's just under the limit.
THe four lads get into the car to drive home. On the way home Paul loses control of the car killing two of his friends leaving one injured in a wheelchair for life.

What speed was Paul doing to cause the crash ?

He was under the legal driving limit, so that was legal.
He might even have been under the speed limit, so that was legal.
Maybe he was texting someone for a booty call. That's not legal.
Maybe he had the stereo up in his "pimped out" ride and didn't hear the other car's horn ?
Maybe he looked over his shoulder when one of the lads slagged him about eyeing up the barmaid ?
Maybe he hit a friggin' pothole ?

Maybe it was a just a bloody accident ? Horrible, but it happens.

Maybe, just maybe, that accident would have happened EVEN IF Paul hadn't even had one.

Until such time as people take responsibility for their own actions, we'll never solve this.

I've gone out and had 2 shandies, and driven.
If I'm wide awake, in the pub for a while, and have eaten, I might even have 3.
If I'm tired, or haven't eaten, I'll have none; it doesn't bother me.

The legal limit is there, and you abide by it.

But - in addition - you use your own cop-on whether a lower level is required.