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Pocono News Section
Personal Breathalyzer Sales Spike
Personal Breathalyzer Sales Spike - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 at 7:25PM EST
Reported by: Mike Trim
Wednesday, Dec 30, 2009 @ 07:25pm EST
It claims to give you an accurate alcohol breath test after you've had a few, or a lot. Personal breathalyzers are a hot item across the country, especially during the holiday season.
With New Year's Eve approaching, we asked people who will go out for one of the biggest night of the year what they think. Chris Falcone of Wilkes-Barre said, "I just turned 21 a year ago so i think it would be useful, yeah. I'd rather test myself then opposed to getting pulled over and having them test me."
Personal breathalyzer sales are up nationally and typically spike around New Year's Eve. With a simple blow into the handheld device, you're blood alcohol level is shown.
But state police say slow down when depending on their accuracy. Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Bill Satkowski said, "It's good to hear people are concerned about drunk driving but my concern would be the accuracy of those machines that they're using. Where as law enforcement would use a calibrated machine to show what the alcohol level is."
An accurate breathalyzer like this one is what state police carry on the road. While personal breathalyzers claim to give accurate readings, the only true reading is the one you get from police.
Police set up checkpoints annually for New Year's Eve, the second biggest bar night to Thanksgiving eve.
We checked with Walgreens and Rite Aid, two stores that sell personal breathalyzers. Employees tell us they're not flying off the shelf, but do sell steadily.
Jerimiyah Jones of Wilkes-Barre says even though it's not 100% accurate, personal breathalyzers could help in a pinch. Jones said, "I would have the piece of mind of having the breathalyzer portable and if it's too high I just wouldn't drive."
State Police say if that's the case, get a designated driver or catch a cab. | | |
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