A road safety specialist said that in 20% of cases, the machines indicate higher alcohol levels than are actually present.
By MIRIAM BULWAR DAVID-HAYbooze 88 (photo credit: )
In recent months Tel Aviv's pubs have begun installing machines that enable drinkers to test their blood alcohol levels before heading out to their cars, but revelers are complaining that the machines give misleading results, reports Yediot Tel Aviv. One man said that after downing two shots of whiskey, three of liqueur and a glass of vodka Redbull, his results came up completely clear.
According to the report, numerous pubs have begun purchasing the NIS 5,000 machines in an effort to encourage drinkers not to drive home. Patrons wishing to test their alcohol levels must insert NIS 5 and blow into a tube, with the results appearing on a screen within three seconds. But many drinkers are complaining that the machines are obviously unreliable. A road safety specialist said that in 20 percent of cases, the machines indicate higher alcohol levels than are actually present, and in 40% of cases they indicate lower alcohol levels than are actually present. The specialist also pointed out that, unlike the results from police alcohol testing devices, the results obtained from the machines have no legal validity.
A spokesman for the Alcometer company that distributes the machines denied that they are unreliable and said they are made to European design standards and are similar to the alcohol testing devices used by police.
