Alcohol Testing
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Alcohol testing has come a long way in recent
years. In fact, manufacturers now sell home alcohol testing
kits or wheels for use at home, parties or other activities
where one wishes not to drive afterwards, but not be over
the Blood-Alcohol Concentration (BAC) limit. Employers, schools
and others are also requiring alcohol testing as a condition
for retention. Those who have been pulled over for suspected
DUI know well that alcohol testing is required by the police
officer at the time you are stopped.
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Blood Alcohol Guide
For purposes of this guide, "one drink" is equal
to 1.5 oz. of 80 proof liquor, 12 oz. of regular beer, or
5 oz. of table wine. Your results may vary since many factors
such as age, gender, physical condition, amount of food consumed
and any drugs or medication may influence these results. The
best advice is to abstain. Data supplied by the Pennsylvania
Liquor Control Board.
Employer Alcohol Testing
Many employers require alcohol testing as a part of the pre-employment
screening process. The employer will generally pay for such
testing and may refuse to hire an individual based on the
test results. As of January, 1996, employers who have drivers
on their workforce (with Commercial Drivers Licenses) such
as school bus drivers must have an effective alcohol testing
program in place. Employers must conduct alcohol testing that
is random, under reasonable suspicion, as part of return to
duty, follow-up and when an accident has occurred.
School Alcohol Testing
School alcohol testing at school events is becoming more
popular. Many teachers have dreaded chaperoning dances only
to deal with several trips to the hospital for alcohol poisoning
with their underage students. Many schools are now testing
students who enter school dances, including proms, with Breathalyzers.
Others say that testing kids as they leave events is the way
to go since this will ensure that they are not leaving the
school and driving drunk.
Some schools have expanded their alcohol testing policy to
other events such as night football games as well. Critics
say that instead of spot-checking kids as a way of punishment
it would be better to deter kids with advanced warning of
the alcohol testing instead.
DUI Alcohol Testing
DUI (or Driving Under the Influence) alcohol testing is usually
administered by a police officer using breathalyzer equipment
and/or a series of field sobriety tests developed by the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Some of the
basic field sobriety tests include Alcohol Gaze Nystagmus
test, standing on one foot, walking imaginary line, finger
counting and alternate clapping.
In some states a driver can choose a blood test or a urine
test in lieu of the breathalyzer test. One of the newer machines
is a "datamaster" which is much less complicated
to use than a breathalyzer. The "datamaster" prints
out a ticket with your mechanically determined breath test
results, and no interpretation is required.
For most states, having a BAC of .08 or above (.10 in some
states) is the threshold for being declared legal drunk.
Alcohol Testing Kits
Besides the breathalyzer, datamaster, blood and urine screening
methods used by trained professionals, there are also home
alcohol testing kits one can purchase in hopes of helping
oneself, family or friends avoid a DUI ticket or a lifelong
problem. Some of the kits include alcohol saliva kits, drink
wheel calculators, urine kits, personal digital breathalyzers,
hand-held pupillometer and many others.
Alcohol testing is here to stay. Since alcohol-related deaths
account for 85,000 to 100,000 people annually in the U. S.
alone, alcohol testing has become part of our day-to-day culture.
Those who have alcohol dependency problems or are heavy drinkers
should seek immediate help and not use alcohol testing as
a means to avoid getting the needed help. When used correctly,
to help oneself, one's family, friends or coworkers, alcohol
testing can help save lives and this makes alcohol testing
a truly valuable asset in our culture.
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