How does Alcohol Tester work in cars?

An alcohol tester helps you decide whether you should take a taxi or drive home after drinking alcohol? Due to the fact that the alcohol measurement is not reliable and the possible measurement deviations from the actual alcohol value, we advise against it.

Alcohol is a topic that is always a topic of discussion. Especially since, despite the consumption of alcohol, people continue to drive and therefore not only their own lives but also that of others are in danger.

To avoid exactly this, there is Breathalyzer bestsellers that ensure optimal control. Even if your feeling often tells you otherwise, you should always better check your actual alcohol level after drinking alcohol and leave the vehicle behind.

At least such devices are an interesting way to objectively understand the effects of alcohol consumption on one's own body.

How to determine the level of alcohol in the blood?

A theoretical alcohol calculation on paper is one way to calculate the (theoretical) alcohol level. However, the results are naturally rather imprecise.

Which alcohol tester will give the most accurate result?

Various "per thousand apps" from the Internet can also help to calculate the per thousand value. Gender, body weight, period of alcohol consumption as well as the type and amount of drinks consumed must be entered for this purpose. However, such apps are more of a "fun app" than a serious measurement or calculation method.

Alcohol meter chemical-based testers

If you want to know more about it, you can't avoid an alcohol meter. Disposable chemical-based testers that respond to breath ethanol levels are one possibility. Alcohol tester work more precisely on an electro-chemical basis.

Which devices produce good results and which devices should not?

Disposable testers react to the ethanol content in the breath on a purely chemical basis. The tubes contain a mix of chemicals that change color depending on the ethanol content in the breath. Disposable breathalyzers can provide a rough guide; However, the deviations are too high to be able to draw serious conclusions in terms of alcohol limits.

Digital alcohol meters: based on semiconductor sensors

There are several types of digital alcohol tester. Inexpensive devices are based on semiconductor sensors and can sometimes be purchased for well under 100 euros. However, the measurement results of such devices are largely imprecise. Higher quality and more accurate breathalyzers are based on electrochemical sensors.

During the measurement, an electrode current is generated between the measuring electrode and counter-electrode; the higher the number of electrodes, the more alcohol is involved. This value amplify and digitize and finally display as a per thousand value.

Measurement accuracy of alcohol testing devices

In order for the application to make sense, only alcohol tester that measure to at least +/- 0.05 per thousand should use. Inferior devices or disposable devices do not create this value. As a comparison: In the legally binding police test, measurement results achieve with deviations of no more than +/- 0.03 per milli.

Breathalyzer maintenance after every 12 months

Digital devices should calibrate approximately every 12 months in order to guarantee the most accurate and accurate measurement results possible.

Breathalyzers are small devices that measure the alcohol in the breath. If it is above a certain value, the device reacts. As a permanently installed device or retrofit solution, it can prevent an engine start. Because breath alcohol tester with immobilizer ensure that a driver who is under the influence of alcohol cannot start the car, i.e. cannot participate in road traffic.

How do breathalyzers work in cars?

The driver has to blow hard into a tube or mouthpiece so that the breathalyzer can measure the amount of alcohol in the breath. In the early 1950s, breathalyzers consisted of small glass tubes that you had to blow into. Because the air you breathe contains ethanol after drinking alcohol, it reacts with the chemicals in the tube. This usually turns black.

Since the 1990s, electronic devices have been measuring the air we breathe much more precisely. However, alcohol tester from the free trade or from Internet exchanges do not work as precisely as those used by the police. The deviation is often more than 0.1 per thousand per thousand. Means: At 1 per thousand, the tolerance range is between 0.9 and 1.1 per thousand. Professional devices work with an accuracy of up to 0.05 per mil.

 

Alcohol test immobilizer: calculates the alcohol content

Anyone who has ever drunk driving in the Netherlands either gives up their driving license or has an alcohol lock installed in their car

In future devices that serve as an alcohol immobilizer, the electronics can stop the fuel supply, ignition or, in the case of electric cars, the power supply if the alcohol content in the breath is too high, so that the vehicle does not start.

The function in detail:

• Turn key for ignition or operational readiness
• Alcolock asks drivers to take an alcohol test
• The driver has to blow into a breathalyzer tube
• Alcohol tester calculates the alcohol content in the breath and gives the result
• If the alcohol content is below a certain, predetermined per mille value, the system releases the ignition.

The currently available alcohol locks store these results with the date, time and GPS position. This is of particular interest to commercial operators.

Where are breathalyzers already used?

In the Netherlands, alcolocks uses for driver training. Drivers who have been caught drunk either have to give up their driver's license for five years or have an alcolock built into their car for two years. There are similar regulations in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Austria and the USA, among others. In France, immobilizers are compulsory in school buses, in Sweden in buses, trucks and taxis.

Can I retrofit used cars with alcohol testers?

Breath alcohol tester devices with an immobilizer that can integrate into some vehicles are already sold in the aftermarket. Today, these devices mostly use in commercial vehicles such as trucks, buses or forklifts. And they are expensive.

Depending on the device and vehicle, installation costs between 1,000 and 2,000 euros. In addition, the tester must check and calibrate every six to twelve months.