Keychain, or hand-held, breathalyzers are becoming more and more popular. It’s especially true around the Christmas season with people looking for stocking stuffers, small gifts, and white elephant presents. Companies like BACtrack are advertising keychain breathalyzers as great gifts, quick, accurate, and easy to carry around. The question is…how accurate are these machines and how helpful are they really?
BAC Accuracy Issue
While a keychain alcohol detector might provide a blood alcohol content (BAC) number, this number very well may not accurately reflect your BAC when you are driving. Alcohol is dynamic in the human body and while it travels through the blood system. While your BAC could be a .06 when you blow at a bar it quite possibly would be different later when you are driving. Alcohol in your blood system is like a bell curve and absorbs (gets in to the blood stream) and dissipates (is eliminated from the blood system) at varying rates for each individual. Thus, depending on a keychain breathalyzer to avoid a DUI could be a very dangerous move and should be avoided.
