You know that drinking and driving is a bad idea, but you still like to go out and have a good time. You don’t want to take any unnecessary risks, however, and you definitely don’t want to end up facing drunk driving charges because you had one drink too many.
Is a pocket breathalyzer device the answer? These are handy little devices that are small enough to hang from a keychain or slip into a bag – and they’re designed for people to gauge their own sobriety levels before they get behind the wheel of a car.
You may want to rethink that plan
Every pocket breathalyzer promises accuracy, but they don’t all deliver. For example, one investigative report bought three different models to test – and got wildly different results on them all.
Why would that happen? Here are some possibilities:
- They’re cheap devices, and not always well-made. You have no idea if the devices are even properly calibrated right out of the box.
- They get damaged easily. Bouncing around on your keyring or shoved in a back pocket isn’t helping the device stay in top condition, and that can lead to errors in readings.
- You may not use the device correctly. When you take a breath test under the watchful gaze of a police officer, they’ll stop you and make you start again if you don’t breathe in and out correctly. When you’re in a bar and you’ve been drinking, you have no real idea if you’re doing the test properly or not.
Don’t put your trust – or your future – in the reliability of a pocket breathalyzer. When in doubt, call a rideshare company, get a cab or call a friend to get home, instead.
If you do make a mistake and end up charged with drunk driving, find out more about your defense options.