Safety Issues
Road Safety
Presence of alcohol in blood directly influences one’s brain and impaires the ability to drive and manipulate complex machinery. The danger is that at certain levels it improves self-confidence and people think it OK to drive. Different countries impose different levels of acceptable blood alcohol content. The concentration of 0.5g/l (BAC 0.05%) is considered the legal limit in many countries and the level of 0.8g/l (BAC 0.08%) is illegal in most countries. Breath alcohol testers can alert you regarding your objective condition. If you have to drive, make sure you are WELL BELOW the acceptable levels, making allowance for the precision of the alcohol tester you use. Nevertheless, the general rule should be NOT TO DRIVE DRUNK. Breath alcohol testers should not be used as an excuse for drunk driving.
Ignition Locks
Apart from severe financial penalties and even prison terms, some countries (e.g. US, Canada, Australia, Sweden) impose in certain cases alcotester controlled ignition locks. Other countries seriously consider introduction of such systems (France). Please contact us if you are interested in interlock systems.
Industrial Safety
In most industrial environments, it would be imprudent, or even dangerous to work under the influence of alcohol. In heavy industries, such as Petrochemical, Metallurgy, Mining, etc. enterprises are legally responsible for secure working conditions, and hence they may carry out routine alcohol tests. While there is no single accepted approach, international organizations have come up with suggestions and recommendations regarding workplace safety in general and prevention of alcohol-related accidents in particular for some industries, as Maritime Transportation below.
Following the adoption of “Guiding Principles on drug and alcohol testing procedures for worldwide application in the maritime industry” by the Joint ILO/WHO Committee on the Health of Seafarers (Geneva, 10-14 May 1993), The International Labor Organization (ILO) jointly with the World Health Organization (WHO) have developed the “Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention Program”.
The United States Coast Guard has updated, effective June 20, 2006 Regulations for Serious Marine Incidents and mandatory use of alcohol breath testers. The changes include:
i) Mandatory alcohol testing after a serious marine incident (SMI) to ensure that mariners or their employees involved in a SMI are tested for alcohol use within 2 hours of the occurrence of the incident. This final rule also requires that most commercial vessels have approved alcohol testing devices on board.
ii) The Coast Guard is amending its regulations governing marine casualty reporting requirements by adding "significant harm to the environment" as a reportable marine casualty, and by requiring certain foreign flag vessels, such as oil tankers, to report marine casualties that occur in waters subject to US jurisdiction, but beyond US navigable waters, when those casualties involve material damage affecting the seaworthiness or efficiency of the vessel, or significant harm to the environment.
iii) The final rule requires that marine employers carry alcohol testing devices listed in the most current versions of NHTSA Conforming Products List of Evidential Breath Measurement Devices or the NHTSA Conforming Products List of Alcohol Screening Devices.
