WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. - Law enforcement has used them for decades to tell if a driver has been drinking. Now, breathalyzers are available to anyone willing to shell out a few bucks, to several hundred dollars, to buy them.
A growing number of people are doing just that, and one Wheat Ridge company is reaping the benefits.
Lifeloc has made breathalyzers for law enforcement for 25 years. Two months ago, it got into the personal breathalyzer market, which is currently valued at $215-million, up from $28 million just four years ago.
Lifeloc makes a higher-end model, which it says precisely reads someone's breath alcohol content--unlike the cheaper models the company has tested.
"The problem with (cheaper models) is they cannot give you a precise reading of your breath alcohol content. You'll get one reading one minute, another reading the next minute. You get totally different readings. You don't know if it's low or high or correct," says Lifeloc President Barry Knott.
Some low-end, disposable breath alcohol tests don't electronically measure the alcohol vapor on your breath. Instead, they have crystals inside that when you blow on them, change color to indicate the presence of alcohol.
"At best, they can indicate whether you've had alcohol. But they cannot give you an accurate or reliable alcohol reading," says Knott.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving says it worries people could use personal breathalyzers incorrectly.
"If they haven't waited enough time since their last drink, their blood-alcohol content may be on the rise. And if they've used that to make a decision on whether or not to drive and they don't realize their BAC is on the rise, that puts themselves on the road with others at jeopardy," says MADD spokesperson Emily Tompkins.
Lifeloc's breathalyzer costs $249.
Before you buy any personal breathalyzer, make sure it's approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Many are not.
Also, make sure it can be serviced domestically. They have to be calibrated every year to maintain its effectiveness.
A growing number of people are doing just that, and one Wheat Ridge company is reaping the benefits.
Lifeloc has made breathalyzers for law enforcement for 25 years. Two months ago, it got into the personal breathalyzer market, which is currently valued at $215-million, up from $28 million just four years ago.
Lifeloc makes a higher-end model, which it says precisely reads someone's breath alcohol content--unlike the cheaper models the company has tested.
"The problem with (cheaper models) is they cannot give you a precise reading of your breath alcohol content. You'll get one reading one minute, another reading the next minute. You get totally different readings. You don't know if it's low or high or correct," says Lifeloc President Barry Knott.
Some low-end, disposable breath alcohol tests don't electronically measure the alcohol vapor on your breath. Instead, they have crystals inside that when you blow on them, change color to indicate the presence of alcohol.
"At best, they can indicate whether you've had alcohol. But they cannot give you an accurate or reliable alcohol reading," says Knott.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving says it worries people could use personal breathalyzers incorrectly.
"If they haven't waited enough time since their last drink, their blood-alcohol content may be on the rise. And if they've used that to make a decision on whether or not to drive and they don't realize their BAC is on the rise, that puts themselves on the road with others at jeopardy," says MADD spokesperson Emily Tompkins.
Lifeloc's breathalyzer costs $249.
Before you buy any personal breathalyzer, make sure it's approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Many are not.
Also, make sure it can be serviced domestically. They have to be calibrated every year to maintain its effectiveness.
