Breathalysers: A Digital Alcohol Meter

A breathalyser is a digital alcohol meter used to measure an individual’s blood alcohol content (BAC). It comes with a digital display that shows the BAC calculated. Time taken for the results to show up differ from device to device. However, machines like the BACtrack breathalyser can have it ready within 10 to 15 seconds. Police officers typically use breathalysers on drivers pulled over, mainly because of suspicious or dangerous driving. These devices help single out individuals who might threaten others, especially on the road. A BAC of under 0.05% is required for drivers to be legally allowed to drive, and going over it is punishable by law. Therefore, those who occasionally enjoy having a drink with their friends may find BACtrack personal breathalysers useful as they could help prevent them from acquiring DUI charges. 

Alcohol Limit in New Zealand

New Zealand’s Road to Zero strategy hopes to achieve zero fatalities and casualties in ten years (2030). It aims to have zero road trauma brought by recklessness or substance-impaired driving, such as alcohol. Alcohol is one of the leading factors of road accidents in New Zealand every year. Many people consume alcohol and drive without knowing their BAC level. Therefore, it is a top priority to strengthen road safety against drink driving. So, if you are planning on consuming alcohol before getting behind the wheel, it is best to know your blood alcohol limits. You can monitor your alcohol consumption and level through BACtrack digital alcohol meters, available at Breathalysers New Zealand. Your BAC determines how much alcohol you can take and whether it is safe to drive within the allowable limits. Generally, the alcohol limit in NZ is 0.05% blood alcohol content (BAC).

Alcohol Testing

Other forms of alcohol testing include urine sampling and blood sampling. Urine sampling, usually for drug testing, can also trace alcohol within a person’s system. Collecting samples may be easy, but the test results and how long they take to process is where this form of testing falls behind compared to using a digital alcohol meter. Despite being the most accurate, blood sampling is a form of testing that isn’t used for routine alcohol checking that police officers and employers usually do. It is mainly because of its invasive nature and the requirement of trained professionals and registered laboratories. Thus, with machines like the BACtrack breathalyser, now available even for public use at Breathalysers New Zealand, quick alcohol testing with just a press of a button is doable.

How to use a Digital Alcohol Meter

To use a digital alcohol meter, you have to breathe into a mouthpiece. Then, it will provide you with an instant readout. A traditional digital alcohol meter shows one green band, which indicates that your BAC is less than 0.05 percent, which is within the legal blood alcohol limit for driving. Historically, the way your BAC was acknowledged was that if your BAC were between 0.05 percent and 0.10 percent two green bands would show, and over 0.10 percent you would show three green bands. Subsequently, many digital alcohol meters nowadays, such as the BACtrack breathalysers available at Breathalysers New Zealand, can show the exact BAC value on the device’s display.

Most BACtrack breathalysers work the same fundamental way

• Attach a mouthpiece to the unit (some may come with a non-removable mouthpiece already attached).
• Turn the device on (usually with the “on” switch).
• Wait for the device to get ready for testing (usually around 5-10 seconds, depending on the digital alcohol meter unit).
• Blow into the mouthpiece until the machine tells you to stop (an audible beep usually defines this). Note: preemptively stopping may cause test results to be inaccurate.
• Wait for your device to calculate the BAC results for 10 seconds (shown on a screen of the device or your smartphone screen using a Bluetooth device).
• The digital alcohol meter will usually shut down by itself after a couple of minutes if left unused.
• Your device will tell you if the test has failed. (usually caused by not blowing long enough or hard enough to attain a decent reading). Note: If this happens, try again after a few minutes.
• If results show definitive inaccurate readings, your unit may need recalibration (to be sent back to the manufacturer).

BACtrack Digital Alcohol Meters

People nowadays may now even have their digital alcohol meter from anywhere. It is made possible by devices like the BACtrack S80 Pro that are made easy to operate. It comes with a one-touch operation type of system that is easy to use without any extra settings or modifications; this allows for accurate and reliable self-tests results to be acquired by almost anyone effortlessly. BACtrack devices made available to the public also come with the same type of fuel cell technology found in police-grade breathalysers. It means that a breathalyser bought for personal use could provide almost the same BAC results as a law enforcer’s or a medical professional’s breathalyser. Hence, with penalties for DUI charges becoming more severe, a personal digital alcohol meter may prove to be a reasonable investment. Knowing one’s BAC may help their decision to either drive or take a taxi home for the night. 

Where to Get BACtrack Digital Alcohol Meters in New Zealand

You can buy a highly reliable digital alcohol meter in NZ through the Breathalysers New Zealand website. There are a variety of high-quality BACtrack breathalysers you can choose from at Breathalysers New Zealand:

• BACtrack keychain breathalysers – are available for simple, at-home, or low-volume testing. These compact devices are small enough to fit in the keyrings of your house or car keys. The BACtrack Go and C6 Keychains are the most cost-efficient digital alcohol meter you can get in the market.
• BACtrack smartphone breathalysers – can deliver your BAC results directly to your phone. Moreover, you can also add notes to them via the BACtrack app. This feature can help improve BAC tracking and monitoring. Drivers under the zero-tolerance alcohol limit, which is under 20 years old, can also use BACtrack’s ZeroLine technology. This technology can determine when and how long until your BAC would return to 0.00%. The BACtrack C6 Keychain, C8 Smartphone, and Mobile Pro are robust digital alcohol meters that can pair with smartphones via Bluetooth.
• BACtrack workplace breathalysers – are essential to perform workplace alcohol testing quickly and efficiently. These digital alcohol meters are highly reliable due to the accuracy of the fuel cell sensor technology. The fuel sensors makes BACtrack devices less likely to provide false-positive results. These are the same technology you can find in a police officer’s breathalyser. Therefore, making BACtrack breathalysers the go-to when it comes to accuracy and reliability. The S80 Pro Gen2 and Alcovisor Mercury are the ideal devices for workplace testing.