You pretty much just have to turn on the TV or look at your computer to see a story about a celebrity overindulging in drinking or using drugs--even the ones you may least expect sometimes end up as front page news for behaving irresponsibly. In the past few months, we've seen DUi charges for athletes, movie stars and other celebrities fill the pages of TMZ and other gossip headlines, even those we'd generally consider upstanding citizens.
What this illustrates is that you are not necessarily the best person to determine when you have had enough or too much. We do drug testing in Houston for a living, but we still like to enjoy celebrations like anyone else. The difference is, we’re equipped to measure with certainty whether or not to get behind the wheel of a car. This is the season of holiday celebrations and most of us attend more parties and functions that include alcohol at this time of year than any other time. You may start the evening with the best intentions, but you may finish it face down on a police car being handcuffed if you don’t think through some precautions upfront.
Typically, we would recommend assigning a Designated Driver, taking an Uber or public transportation to or from a party, using good sense by eating before you have a drink and pacing the drinking by having a glass of water or non-alcoholic beverage in-between alcoholic beverages. All good ideas, but they still leave you guessing about whether you are fit to drive, so here is an additional option for consideration—carry a personal Breathalyzer.
The only way you can have any idea of your specific Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) is to measure it. Carry and use a personal Breathalyzer prior to leaving a function to help determine whether you should be behind the wheel of a car. You might be surprised by what you discover. Drinking affects each of us differently at different times. One drink on an empty stomach will hit you differently than the same drink when you’ve had something to eat. The only way to know for sure whether you are within legal limits is to be tested.
We recommend two devices for a personal or company breathalyzer: BACtrack Trace Pro and BACtrack S80 Pro. They take less than 10 seconds to use. If it registers your BAC at .08 or more, you should not take a chance driving. We would even suggest following the DOT compliance guidelines and not driving unless the BAC is below .02. Stay where you are drinking only non-alcoholic beverages and test again every 30 minutes. Better yet, call an Uber or a friend to take you home.
Don’t risk becoming the star of a YouTube video or worse yet, ending up in a body bag or putting someone else in one. Party responsibly and take the additional precaution of knowing when you’ve had enough by using a personal Breathalyzer and having a real Plan B.