DIY drink-drive test kit warning

Drivers could be risking their licences and their lives by using a cheap DIY breathalyser.

Low-cost testing kits are available in shops for as little as £5, and claim to be able to warn motorists if they have drunk too much alcohol to legally drive. But more than half the units tested in a new investigation told users they were safe to drive when they were actually over the limit!

What’s more, the devices were wildly inaccurate – one providing a reading that was 42 per cent out – while most were inconsistent, giving a pass read-out to one driver, but then failing the same person in a consecutive test. None of the kits analysed gave the same reading as a Home Office-approved police breathalyser.

Used car specialist Parkers assessed seven devices bought on auction site eBay by testing someone who was just over the drink-drive limit of 35mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath. It then compared the results to official police tests. Brian Roake, boss of Medacx – the firm that supplies police breath testers – explained: “These DIY devices do not meet police standards, and are not fit for purpose.”

Inspector Russell Clark of West Yorkshire Police added: “These breathalysers are no defence should anyone go to court.” A drink-drive conviction brings a minimum ban of six months.