Cops cannot breathalyse just so

I’m afraid he is some 20 years out of date. The old balloon bag was changed for an electronic analyser many years ago. With this instrument a new plastic tube is inserted for each test so that there is no chance of cross infection.

But even in the old days a new tube was used for each test so there never was the risk of cross infection. I do not know the proposed procedures that will be introduced in Trinidad, but in the UK police cannot just stop a car to breathalyse a driver.

Every accident, however minor, the driver is breathalysed as a matter of routine.

When a driver fails a roadside test he is arrested and taken to the police station where he is again tested as if still positive he is charged accordingly. The court will as a matter of routine cancel the driving licence for a year in addition to any fine.

But this is not the end of it, as the insurance companies will more than likely increase premiums by 2/300 percent if they will insure at all. So, if you are caught above the permitted level you are in for a rough time. That is why the UK has one of the lowest road deaths in Europe.

Needless to say, this has had a profound effect on social habits and “one for the road” is now unheard of. If and when the breathalyser is introduced here, I forecast it will, within a few months, reduce the number of cars on the road by a large percentage.