Why Purchasing A Digital Alcohol Tester Is A Good Idea

You were sure you were fine to drive. Oh, yeah, you’d had a few beers with your buddies, maybe even a shot or two, but you weren’t slurring your words, staggering, or getting into bar fights. But the next thing you knew you saw flashing red lights in your rearview mirror and the police told you your blood alcohol level was way over the legal limit. Now you’re facing a stiff fine, community service, mandatory alcohol abuse classes, the loss of your drivers license, maybe even some jail time. And to think, a digital alcohol tester could have saved you all that grief, because a digital alcohol tester can tell you when you’re too drunk to drive, even if you don’t feel drunk.People who drive under the influence of alcohol generally fall into one of two categories. The first category consists of chronic, hardcore alcohol abusers. People in this group have often been abusing alcohol and perhaps other substances for years. They generally know they are drunk when they get behind the wheel of a car, but are so eager to find that next drink or high that they don’t care. A home drug and alcohol test probably won’t be of much benefit to the people in this category.

The second category is much larger. It consists of people who’ve had a few drinks with friends, shared a bottle of wine over dinner, or came home from work and had a few beers before going out to run some errands. Most people in this second category have no idea that their blood alcohol level is over the legal limit and are shocked and horrified when they are arrested for driving under the influence.

The people in the second category can benefit immensely from a digital alcohol tester.

What Is A Digital Alcohol Tester?

A digital alcohol tester tests your breath to determine your blood alcohol content (BAC). The results are reported in a digital display (hence the name of the test).

Results are usually reported in decimals, such as 0.2 or 0.08. In spite of the fact that most people don’t feel at all drunk, studies have shown that you start to become impaired when your BAC reaches 0.05. In most states, you can be arrested for driving under the influence if your BAC is 0.08 or above. (In a few states, the legal limit is 0.1, but it’s still not a good idea to drive at that level.)

A digital alcohol tester can warn you if you’re approaching or over the legal limit.

Purchasing A Digital Alcohol Tester

Digital alcohol testers can be purchased on the internet. Popular brand names include AlcoHawk, AlcAlert, and SafeDrive. They usually cost around $150 to $175. This may seem like a large expense, until you remember that fines for driving under the influence may run into thousands of dollars. Hiring an attorney to fight the charges also costs much more than the price of a digital alcohol tester.

Purchasing a digital alcohol tester is an excellent idea for two reasons.

First, as already discussed, it can keep you out of a lot of legal trouble.

Second, it can dissuade you from driving when you are impaired and possible getting into an accident. Your loved ones would be broken hearted if you were injured or killed. And imagine how terrible you would feel if you injured or killed someone else while driving drunk.

A Note On Accuracy

Digital alcohol testers are accurate within a couple of tenths of a point either way. For instance, if the digital alcohol tester shows a BAC of 0.06, your can figure your actual BAC is somewhere between 0.04 and 0.08. Remember that you can be arrested for driving under the influence at 0.08, so those two-tenths of a point can make an incredible difference.

In general, if your digital alcohol tester puts you anything close to the legal limit, it’s a good idea to wait until some of the alcohol is out of your system. And waiting really is all you can do. Drinking coffee or taking a cold shower won’t help lower your BAC. You’ll just end up a cold, alert drunk. Only time will lower your BAC.

That’s why it’s a good idea drink alcohol sparingly and to stop drinking alcohol completely at least an hour or so before you plan to drive. With common sense, and a digital alcohol tester to guide you, you should be able to avoid ever getting behind the wheel when you are impaired.

0 comments :

Post a Comment