Company Pushes for Breathalyzers in Bars

Individuals in Orange County, California are trying to convince local bars that placing breathalyzers in their businesses will help to cut down on the number of driving under the influence arrests and accidents. Corder Hudson, owner of Common Cents Vending, has taken it upon himself to travel around Orange County to popular bar districts in order to encourage local bar owners to install the coin operated breathalyzers. Hudson also plans to target his sales to fraternity houses on college campuses.

Hudson says that the breathalyzers that would be placed in the bars use the same technology as breathalyzers utilized by law enforcement officers. In order to test your blood alcohol level, a disposable straw is inserted into a small hole in the machine. The individual is instructed to blow a steady breath into the straw for ten seconds, and the results appear moments after on a LED screen. Hudson explains that while the machine costs one dollar per use, the benefits of its' use far outweigh the cost because the average DUI costs approximately eight thousand dollars.

While Hudson believes that placing the $2,500 machines in places where alcohol is served seems like a promising idea, bar owners and bar-goers alike have not shown the same type of enthusiasm. So far, Hudson has only been able to get one bar to install the breathalyzer machine, Mikey's Sports Bar in Fullerton, CA.

Bar managers expressed their disapproval of placing the machine in their place of business, stating that they are in the business of serving alcohol and a breathalyzer would severely curtail alcohol consumption. Bar owners also foresaw a problem if patrons were to use the machine as a game to see who could get the highest blood alcohol content (BAC) reading. A random sampling of bar-goers admitted that they would rather not know if their blood alcohol content was over the legal limit when they were planning to drive home anyway.

Despite the technologically advanced nature of the equipment, police officers have spoken out against the use of such machinery, saying that the device could provide a false sense of security for individuals who have consumed alcoholic beverages and are planning to drive. It takes a certain amount of time for alcohol to fully metabolize in the body and if an individual uses the breathalyzer before the alcohol has completely metabolized, the individual's blood alcohol level could rise above the legal limit once the individual is in the car driving home.

The idea of placing breathalyzers in bars is not a new idea. In 2005, officials in Rockland, Michigan purchased several breathalyzers to place in local bars as a supplement to local police enforcement. More recently in Connecticut, State Senator Andrew J. McDonald proposed a bill that would give bars and restaurants incentive to install breathalyzer machines by lowering their liability from $250,000 to $100,000. Also in Orange County, a San Clemente couple has created a company called Drive Safe, which works to place breathalyzers in local bars, much like Hudson's company, Common Sense Vending.

Please take some time to visit our websites:
San Francisco DUI Attorney
San Mateo DUI Lawyer
Marin County DUI Defense
Northern California DUI Defense Lawyers
San Francisco County DUI Defense Lawyers