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| Hunter Abbott demonstrates new Elite 3 personal breathalyser |
Alcohol is a factor in 38pc of fatal crashes here in Ireland and studies show that if you drive while at the Irish limit, you are five times more likely to be involved in a fatal accident than when sober, writes Trish Whelan. A sobering thought!
Many drivers get behind the wheel the ‘morning after’, unwittingly over the legal blood-alcohol limit with RSA figures showing that one in ten drink-driving arrests occur between 8am and 2pm with a peak on Sundays.
If you drink four pints of medium-strong beer, or four large glasses of wine, it could take as long as 14 hours for the alcohol to clear your system. If you drink between 9am and 11pm, you may not be sober until 11am the following morning.
One of the only ways to ensure you’re clear to drive the next morning is to use a personal breathalyser. Alcosense Laboratories has a range of single use and electronic breathalysers which give you clear results in seconds.
Former racing driver Hunter Abbott and founder of Alcosense Laboratories was in Dublin this week to launch the new Elite 3 personal digital breathalyser which replaces the multi award-winning Elite 2 breathalyser.
This latest model features upgraded Semi-Conductor alcohol sensor technology and deep lung air sampling for ‘unrivalled accuracy’ at its price point.
It is designed and manufactured by UK-based AlcoSense Laboratories and is easy to use as the demonstration by Mr Abbott showed. The device fits in the palm of your hand and gives your alcohol reading in seconds.
You just turn it on and insert a blow tube. When the blow symbol is displayed on screen, blow through the device for approximately six seconds until it beeps.
A few seconds later your results will be shown in increments of 0.01pc BAC of mg/L, giving you a detailed understanding of your alcohol level - and more importantly, when any alcohol from the evening before has cleared your system.
The Elite 3 uses a colour coded results system, alerting you when you are near or over your chosen drink drive limit. It can be set to any limit in Ireland and the UK including the lower Scottish limit, and also the novice and learner driver limit in Ireland. It is designed to medical quality standard and AlcoSense Laboratories say it is recommended by UK police and Road Safety groups and Government Drink Driver Centres.
Elite 3 features inbuilt air flow sensors and takes a larger breath sample including deep lung air to increase the accuracy of the readings.
At a demonstration on how the Elite 3 works, Hunter Abbott said it is important to take deep lung air for the most accurate concentration of alcohol and not just give a puff into the device which can significantly reduce accuracy and may land you in trouble if you are later breathalised by a garda. He explained the air in the throat and upper lungs is up to 60pc lower in alcohol concentration than deep lung air.
0.5pc is the legal limit in Ireland.
The Elite 3 will store the last nine test results which can be easily accessed by pressing and holding the history button on the front of the breathalyser.
The device will automatically perform a sensor clean every time it is used. It also now features a calibration reminder after 12 months or 300 tests so you can easily remember to have your breathalyser recalibrated. The turnaround time until you get it back is about one week.
“Part of the responsible enjoyment of alcohol is to understand its effect on the body and know when you are clear of alcohol the next day. The Elite 3 helps you do exactly that by giving you the tools to make an informed decision - removing the potentially fatal guesswork of knowing when you’re clear of alcohol the morning after the night before.”
The pocket-sized AlcoSense Elite 3 is available from Halfords, Boots or from www.alcosense.ie and is priced from €89.99. A box contains five tubes and Triple AAA batteries as well as a manual.
*The AlcoSense Elite 2 won more group tests than any other breathalyser in the UK market including: What Car? Best Breathalyser Under £100; Fifth Gear Group Test; Wired Magazine Group Test; Diesel Car Magazine Group Test; Sunday Post Group Test; Road Safety Analysis Group Test.
