Staying Safe Behind the Wheel?

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Yadkin Winery Articles

Staying Safe Behind the Wheel?

Written by Scott Koegler

Saturday, 16 January 2010 11:22

As part of producing our site Wines of Yadkin Valley, it's my duty to sample wines at the various vineyards we visit. The tasting rooms are no closer than 40 minutes away, which means we need to drive to and from these places. Driving around this countryside is a great thing in itself, but sometimes driving back can get a little, um... blurry, if I don't wait an appropriate length of time before heading home. In order to put a more 'sober assessment' on my driving decisions, I'm using the BACtrack S75 Pro- a consumer level brethalizer.

The BACtrack is about the size of a fat MP3 player and about as easy to use. Just push the button to turn it on, insert the mouth piece, wait for the countdown, the blow into the mouthpiece for 5 seconds. A few seconds after you're done blowing, a numeric value shows up on the LCD. The number is the familiar blood alcohol content percentages (hence the BAC name).

It would be nice if the LCD had more explicit information, like "DON"T DRIVE!" or "HAND THE KEYS TO SOMEONE ELSE", but what it does is provide numbers. And the meaning of the numbers is shown in the instruction manual. Of course, I don't take the instructions with me, so I need to rely on my (hopefully not impaired) judgement when interpreting the results. Somehow I think that could present a problem.

Anyhow, I'll know more once my testing results measure more than the current "0.0" rating, but I can tell you that it's quick and easy to use, and comes in its own little pouch where you can store the unit and a couple mouth tubes - so you can test your DD just to make sure.

The BACtrack S75 Pro sells for about $80, and is a lot less expensive than pretty much any possible results it can help you to avoid.

And just for your reference:

Dose-Specific Effects of Alcohol Consumption

BAC	Dose-Specific Effects *
0.02-0.03%	slight euphoria. loss of shyness. depressant effects are not apparent. Impairment possible in some individuals.
0.04-0.06%	Feeling of well-being, relaxation, lower inhibitions and sensation of warmth. euphoria. some minor impairment of reasoning and memory. Lowering of caution. Driving skills may be impaired at this level of intoxication.
0.07-0.09%	slight impairment of balance, speech, vi- sion, reaction time, and hearing. euphoria. Judgment and self-control are reduced. caution, reason and memory are impaired. Driving skills are always impaired at this level of intoxication and higher.
0.10-0.12%	significant impairment of motor coordination and loss of good judgment. speech may be slurred. Balance, vision, reaction time and hearing will be impaired. euphoria.
0.13-0.15%	Gross motor impairment and lack of physical control. Blurred vision and major loss of balance. euphoria is reduced and dysphoria (anxiety, restlessness) is beginning to appear.
0.16-0.20%	dysphoria predominates. nausea may appear.
0.25%	needs assistance in walking. Total mental confusion. dysphoria with nausea and some vomiting.
0.30%	loss of consciousness.
0.40% and up **	Onset of coma. Possible death due to respiratory arrest

* The effects of alcohol intoxication are greatly influenced by individual variations among users. some users will be intoxicated at a much lower Bac than shown above.
** death can occur at a lower Bac in some individuals.

The generally accepted legal standard for alcohol intoxication in the united states is 0.08%. however, your driving skills can be impaired at a level of 0.04% or lower. It is never safe to drink any amount of alcohol and drive.