breathalyzer

19 Stories

NTSB: Put a Booze Detector in Every New Car

Congress has already required NHTSA to make automakers install systems within 3 years

(Newser) - The National Transportation Safety Board is recommending that all new vehicles in the US be equipped with blood alcohol monitoring systems that can stop an intoxicated person from driving. The recommendation, if enacted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, could reduce the number of alcohol-related crashes, one of the...

Breathalyzer Can Tell if You Have COVID in 3 Minutes

FDA grants emergency use authorization to breath test

(Newser) - A coronavirus breathalyzer could soon be coming to a doctor's office, hospital, or testing site near you. For the first time, a COVID-19 breath test has been granted emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration, USA Today reports. Patients blow into tubes in a manner similar to...

Frat Party So Off the Hook Even the Air Was Buzzed

Police say air in Maryland fraternity tested positive on Breathalyzer

(Newser) - We've all heard of a contact high, but a Maryland fraternity's recent "Tequila Tuesday" was so saturated with booze that it raised the possibility of a contact buzz. USA Today reports that when police raided the Sigma Alpha Epsilon party in November, the very air registered a...

Driver Taking Court-Ordered Breathalyzer Test Kills Teen

The 31-year-old was not impaired at the time of the crash

(Newser) - An 18-year-old Arlington, Texas, woman died Friday after being involved in a crash a week prior with a driver who police say may have been distracted by a court-ordered Breathalyzer test. The unnamed driver, 31, told police that he took his eyes off the road for three or four seconds...

Volunteers Can Get Paid to Smoke Pot—for Science

Washington State University scientists are building a better breathalyzer

(Newser) - Washington State University researchers are offering to pay volunteers willing to help make America's roads safer—and to get really high in the process. As part of a project to develop a more effective breathalyzer test to detect stoned drivers, volunteers (21 and up and residents of Pullman, Washington)...

In One City, Cops Crack Down on Drinking and ... Walking

Many accidents in Namibia's capital involve drunken pedestrians

(Newser) - Police in Namibia's capital are cracking down on a somewhat unlikely group, reports the BBC , following road accidents that are blamed not only on intoxicated motorists but on tipsy pedestrians. Police spokesman Edmund Khoaseb tells the Namibian that people who survive a run-in with a car will be given...

Is the Movie Funny? Test of the Air Might Reveal All

Chemical we exhale may correspond to fear, humor, say researchers

(Newser) - Ever wondered if dogs can actually smell when you are afraid? New research published in the journal Scientific Reports suggests that humans emit certain chemical signatures that might be predictive of our emotions "by broadcasting scene specific emissions on breath." To test this, they studied the air in...

Supreme Court Likely to Radically Alter Breath Tests

Justices seem to side against the US government

(Newser) - Laws in 13 states making it a crime for a driver to refuse an alcohol test might soon change radically, based on how a Supreme Court hearing went down Wednesday. Drivers from Minnesota and North Dakota, arrested for drunk driving after refusing a breath test, argued the test violated their...

After DWI Arrest, Texas Student Drives Barbie Jeep

Tara Monroe spent $60 on her new ride because biking 'really sucks'

(Newser) - When Texas State University industrial engineering junior Tara Monroe had her license suspended last March for refusing to take a breathalyzer test upon leaving a Waka Flocka concert, her father drove to San Marcos and swapped her car for a bike. But "riding a bike around campus sucks,"...

Coming Soon: Breathalyzer for Pot
Coming Soon:
Breathalyzer for Pot
Jul 17, 2015 2:48 PM CDT

Coming Soon: Breathalyzer for Pot

Canadian company plans to be first on the market

(Newser) - The race toward the legalization of marijuana has set off another inevitable race: one to be first on the market with a handheld breathalyzer for pot. Reuters reports that Canadian company Cannabix will be the likely winner, given that it has a prototype device now being tested that can detect...

New Delhi Subway Riders Must Pass Breathalyzer

Critics worry new crackdown will put more drunks on roads

(Newser) - The New Delhi subway is so tired of drunken passengers starting fights at night that it's setting up breathalyzers at all its stations, reports the Hindustan Times . Those who blow over the limit can't board a metro rail car. It's believed to be a worldwide first for...

Coming Soon: Disease Breathalyzer?

New test proves promising in mice

(Newser) - What if you could diagnose a disease as easily as you could tell whether someone were driving drunk? That possibility is on the table thanks to work from a group of researchers from the University of Vermont, who are working on a breathalyzer test that can detect forms of bacteria,...

Marines Face Random Alcohol Tests

And even a 0.1% result requires counseling

(Newser) - The Marines have adopted what sounds like a zero-tolerance approach to alcohol. Beginning next month, all members of the Corps must undergo random Breathalyzer tests twice a year, reports the Los Angeles Times . Those who blow a .01% or higher—that's possible after a single drink—get referred for...

NTSB: Ignition Locks for All Drunk Drivers

Board says change could save lives

(Newser) - Every state should require all convicted drunken drivers, including first-time offenders, to use devices that prevent them from starting a car's engine if their breath tests positive for alcohol, the National Transportation Safety Board said today. The ignition interlock devices—already required for all convicted drunken drivers in 17...

Driving in France? Gotta Carry a Breathalyzer

New law will save lives, government hopes

(Newser) - France is serious about cutting down on drunk driving: A new law requires all drivers in the country to carry a breathalyzer in their vehicles or be fined. Car accidents kill 4,000 people there each year, and drunk driving is the main cause of those accidents, the BBC reports....

French Making In-Car Breathalyzers Mandatory

Drivers without self-testing kit to be fined

(Newser) - The French are taking one more excuse away from drunk drivers. Starting this spring, all motorists will be required to have a breathalyzer in their car so that if they have consumed alcohol, they can make sure they're not over the limit before they get behind the wheel, the...

Cops Bust Driver Dressed as Breathalyzer for DUI

It's becoming a Halloween tradition

(Newser) - A Nebraska man was arrested for driving under the influence—while dressed as a breathalyzer for Halloween, the Smoking Gun reports. Matthew Nieveen, 19, was pulled over by police after driving erratically. Much to the surprise of the cops, he was dressed as the very object they used to establish...

Lilo's New Ankle Bracelet: No, You Can't Get One

Alcohol monitoring could come in handy for, say, parents of teenagers

(Newser) - If an alcohol-monitoring bracelet can keep celebs like Lindsay Lohan from drinking—which, of course, remains to be seen—other sobriety seekers might wonder, can I get one? Can a parent procure one to keep a teenager on the straight-and-narrow? Sadly, no. For now the device—which uses the same...

In Time for Holidays, an iPod Breathalyzer

iBreath taps into growing industry around excessive boozing

(Newser) - A new accessory for the iPod aims to cut down on drunk driving, the Los Angeles Times reports. No, not an app that lists lawyers, or one that calls a cab—a breathalyzer. The iBreath plugs into the iPod and, in 5 seconds, gives a blood-alcohol reading. The creator said...

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