If you have any interest in breathalyzers you've probably asked yourself this question: Can I refuse a roadside breathalyzer test?

Recently, a TV news channel followed two police officers on a DUI patrol.  You can view the video below.  Within the video officer Reid tells us that you can refuse the roadside breathalyzer test, but if they have enough evidence you were drinking alcohol they will take you to the police station and you must then submit to an evidential (Intoxilyzer 8000 or similiar) breathalyzer test, otherwise you will be charged with a DUI refusal.

Bottom line, don't drive drunk, and always test yourself with a personal breathalyzer.

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Source: WDAM News 7

Tokyoflash watch design concept

A new concept from the Tokyoflash Design Studio--a touch screen LCD watch design that does much more than simply tell you the time. It also gives an indication of your blood alcohol content (BAC) to gauge your level of sobriety.

Not sure if it is more discreet than a handheld breathalyzer since you will be blowing into your watch, an abnormal behavior that may draw the attention of some.

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Source: Tokyoflash, How Drunk Are You? This LCD Watch Design Will Tell You!

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Think this is a product worth developing or not? Leave a comment below and let us know.

Bay City Police Officer
Dan Anderson

A feel-good news story came across the breathalyzer news lines yesterday. In Bay City, Michigan a police officer (Dan Anderson), after meeting with the Good Samaritain Rescue Mission's director (Debbie Nelson), went back to the office and decided that he needed to help the homeless shelter out by providing a breathalyzer kit.  After Dan and a few fellow officers pitched in they were able to purchase a breathalyzer kit and donate it to the resuce misson.  Needless to say, Debbie and the rest of the mission staff were very pleased and thankful for the gesture. "This is a total surprise," Nelson said. "And to have the officers purchase this out of their own pocket is humbling."

Way to go Dan! We're glad that breathlayzers are playing an important role in the rehabilitation of homeless individuals.

Did you know that Q3 has donated breathalyzers to various organizations? View our Q3 Cares page.

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Source: Michigan Live, Bay City Police buy breathalyzer kit for area homeless shelter

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Have any comments on this post? We'd be glad to hear them!

DUI Patrol, photo by: Steven Damron

As the winter holiday season approaches area police will be stepping up their DUI enforcement efforts throughout your state. If you are going to be out drinking take a cab home or bring along your breathalyzer and test yourself before driving.

Depending on your state, a DUI conviction comes with steep penalties for even first time offenders, including up to one year in jail, up to $2500 in fines, a six month license suspension and mandatory use of a breath alcohol ignition interlock device.

When pulling over drivers police officers look for a variety of indicators to spot potential drunk drivers, these include:

• Turning widely
• Braking erratically
• Driving without headlights
• Weaving, swerving, drifting out of the lanes
• Straddling the center line
• Responding slowly to a change in traffic signals
• Turning abruptly
• Accelerating or decelerating rapidly

Don't have a breathalyzer? We offer personal breathalyzers right here at Q3ATS. Looking for a professional breathalyzer? The AlcoHAWK PT500 is used by police officers to do roadside screening of potential drunk drivers.

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Source: 24-7 Press Release, Approaching Holiday Season Means Increased DUI Patrols in Illinois

Crane Operator

Creating a safe workplace should be your number one priority, here are 7 reasons why adding an AlcoHAWK Breathalyzer is a great idea.

• 40% of serious and/or fatal workplace accidents have drug and/or alcohol involvement. - (Occupational Medicine)
• Up to 50% of all worker's compensation claims are related to drug and/or alcohol abuse in the workplace. - (National Council on Compensation Insurance)
• Approximately 90% of alcohol abusers and 74% of drug users are employees.  - (Department of Health and Human Services)
• An average of 15% to 17% of employees in every  U.S. company are substance abusers.  - (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
• Approximately $70 billion in lost productivity is due to drinking.  - (National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse)
• Substance abusers are 3-4 times more likely to have an accident on the job, and 5 times more likely to file a claim. - (Bureau of Worker's Compensation)
• Substance abusers are up to 50% less productive. - (Bureau of Worker's Compensation)

Bicycle breathalyzer

Interesting news article to share today, a team of engineers at Taiwan's Chienkuo Technology University have built a bicycle with a separate electric motor driving each wheel, handlebar warmers and a breathalyzer that will prevent the bike from being ridden if the cyclist is over the legal limit.

It doesn't look like there is much demand for this type of invention, but kudos to the engineers for their ingenuity.

Source: Environmental Transport Association (ETA): The electric bicycle breathalyzer: The bike you can’t ride drunk

Breathalyzer sensors are sensitive, the dictionary defines sensitive as "readily or excessively affected by external agencies or influences." This means that to extend the life of your breathalyzer's sensor you need to be careful what external influences you allow to act on it.

Failure to wait 20 minutes after smoking, eating or drinking will provide you with inaccurate results and can damage your breathalyzer's sensor, requiring service by a qualified technician.

Remember, it takes about 20 minutes for the alcohol in your mouth to be absorbed into your blood stream, and breathalyzers are calibrated to read a deep lung breath sample. If you blow into it shortly after taking a drink, the breathalyzer will get a direct blast of alcohol from your mouth and the BAC reading will be inaccurately high. If the amount of alcohol in your mouth is high enough it can also damage your breathalyzer's sensor, requiring service by a qualified technician.

From a previous blog post, we learned that smoking can delay alcohol absorption, causing inaccurate BAC readings, and smoke particles blown into the breathalyzer can damage sensor also.

In addition, if food particles find their way into your breathalyzer it could also cause damage to the sensor or at least block your breath from reaching the sensor, causing an inaccurate reading.

So next time you think about blowing into your breathalyzer right after drinking, smoking or eating remember that not waiting 20 minutes will give you an inaccurate BAC reading and you could damage the breathalyzer sensor for any future testing until it is serviced or replaced.

This video has been spreading across the Internet like wildfire, a reminder that if you drink and drive you'll become a laughing stock of the internet, millions upon millions of people watching you embarrass yourself.

Drink responsibly and don't ever drink and drive!

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Comments? Fill out the form below!

Invented by Joe Saavedra, the SOBEaR is a teddy bear with a built-in Breathalyzer that the user must blow into befire receving a drink.  The SOBEaR calculates your BAC and serves an appropriate drink with it's motorized paws; the lower your BAC the higher the ratio of alcohol to mixer it will serve; too high and it gives you straight mixer with no alcohol.

An interesting party idea, but no replacement for a designated driver.

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Source: Brand X; http://www.thisisbrandx.com/2009/08/let-teddy-pour-you-a-drink-the-bartender-robot.html

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What are your thoughts?

Recently a few people have asked us how to clean their AlcoHAWK breathalyzer.  Here is what we recommend:

Use of a mild disinfectant cleaner and a soft cloth on the outside of the case is recommended periodically to keep your unit clean. Do not use alcohol to clean the unit.

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You may ask "Why can't I use rubbing alcohol to clean the unit?" The answer: Because your breathalyzer is used to detect alcohol and if any traces of rubbing alcohol are still on the unit you may have skewed results when you perform a test.