An alcohol test is a method to determine if you are legally intoxicated. Typically, law enforcers and workplaces conduct alcohol tests for legal and safety reasons. A high blood alcohol concentration (BAC) can impair your senses, reasoning, and motor functions, which are all necessary for driving. Therefore, driving or operating heavy equipment while intoxicated poses hazards to you and your surroundings. There are several procedures available for determining the alcohol or intoxication level. A Breath and blood alcohol tester are the most common testers used in roadside and workplace screening.
The breath alcohol tester is a small portable device that can measure the amount of alcohol (ethanol) from a breath sample. Breath alcohol testers or breathalysers analyse the alcohol in the breath through its sensors. It estimates the breath alcohol concentration (BrAC), proportional to the amount of alcohol in the bloodstream. Devices like BACtrack personal breathalysers have fuel cell sensor technology to determine the BAC level accurately. These are the same sensors you would find in a police officer’s breathalyser. Fuel cell sensors are highly accurate and are sensitive to only ethyl alcohol, making these sensors less likely to produce false-positive results. A breath tester with a fuel cell sensor is almost as accurate as a blood alcohol tester. Police officers, in particular, rely heavily on quick breath tests to help them maintain safer roads.
Why not use a Blood Alcohol Tester?
On the other hand, a blood alcohol tester analyses the blood sample for traces of alcohol or its metabolites. Since it analyses the blood directly, it gives more accurate BAC results. However, a blood alcohol tester is not easily accessible as a breathalyser. Only certified professionals can administer a blood alcohol test in a controlled laboratory setting. In most cases, a blood alcohol test is often used as a confirmatory test after a preliminary screening returns a positive BAC result. For example, police officers would take intoxicated drivers to the police station for a blood sample test only after a reasonably high BAC reading in a breathalyser test. Blood tests also take more time to perform. A breath test on a BACtrack personal breathalyser would have your results ready within 10 to 15 seconds.
Using a breath or blood alcohol tester is essential to keeping the roads and workplaces safe and alcohol-free. Additionally, their use can help strengthen the community from the harmful effects of alcohol. Fortunately, breath tests are now easier to perform with the available BACtrack personal and workplace breathalysers. Breathalysers are compact and easily portable. This feature allows users to perform tests on the go. BACtrack breathalysers also feature one-touch operations. Moreover, this feature makes their devices easy to use, even for those with limited breath test experience. With a BACtrack breathalyser, you can ensure that you are within the legal limits for driving (less than 0.05% BAC in Australia) after consuming alcohol.
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