Anyone Know How Sensitive Breathtests Are?

[slinky-minky]

I was just wondering if anyone had any idea as to how sensitive those breath tests are that Vic Pol use??

I wanna go to the supermarket but I tend to load my Carbonara full of white wine, most of it however should have cooked out.

My dilemma though is I'm on my P plates and can't have any booze in my system

[Rekin]

haha just tell the cops you ate some carbonara

http://health.ninemsn.com.au/whatsgoodfory...-over-the-limit

[jawrgy]

even if they do get a reading they take u back to the station and test u there. That will give the ultimate reading. If u werent drinking and the intial breath test came up as positive the 2nd one will prove ur innocence and ur on ur merry way. But if u go to the station and u test positive... ur f*ked.

[slinky-minky]

That was a good article. thanks

Chanz

[wanzi]

Wasn't there something on the news a while ago stating that vicpol's readings were set to be 20% less than what they should be?

[W0rp3D]

Also i was watching one of the cop shows on tv (not sure which state it was in) and they mentioned that if you believe the breat test at the station is wrong then you can choose to have a blood test done, at the least it will give you extra time for it to wear off, whilst you in the sells you best do some exercise lol.

[gdogzgtr]

That article was good. It's what I thought as I have never had anyone with a positive reading from eating food/mouth wash etc. I have even faulted our PBT's a couple of times recently as have tested some people that I could slightly smell the alcohol and they admitted having couple of drinks and the PBT showed nothing.

[_Ryan_]

Just get your cans out.

[gdogzgtr]

You can choose to have a blood test but the alcohol levels decrease MUCH faster in your breath than blood. If you were say 0.07 with breath and had blood taken a hour later you would most likely be 0.08+.

In most cases people's alcohol level are on the rise. They keep rising generally for about 1-2 hours before decreasing. Unless it's just mouth alcohol.

[Rekin]

You can choose to have a blood test but the alcohol levels decrease MUCH faster in your breath than blood. If you were say 0.07 with breath and had blood taken a hour later you would most likely be 0.08+.

In most cases people's alcohol level are on the rise. They keep rising generally for about 1-2 hours before decreasing. Unless it's just mouth alcohol.

is it illegal to have an open alcoholic drink inside a car? Ive heard mixed responses. Can you clarify?

[gdogzgtr]

As long as you are not over the limit there is no law stating you can't have an alcoholic beverage whilst driving.

[iseekool]

As long as you are not over the limit there is no law stating you can't have an alcoholic beverage whilst driving.

That's news - quite interesting.

I thought you are not allowed to eat/drink/use mobile phone/GPS while driving.

So technically I can eat my breakfast while stuck in the daily traffic jam.

[Cowboy1600]

That's news - quite interesting.

I thought you are not allowed to eat/drink/use mobile phone/GPS while driving.

So technically I can eat my breakfast while stuck in the daily traffic jam.

No, the question was can I have an open alcohol container in the car.

Many people believe it is illegal, so if your mate is in the passenger seat with a can, you are breaking the law. That is wrong. It is not illegal. And also, it's not illegal to have a drink while driving as long as you are always in control of your vehicle. Trying to eat 5 weetbix out of a bowl may convince a cop that you were not always in complete control of your vehicle and they may book you. Would be a fair assumption too, and you'd be hard pressed convincing a magistrate otherwise.

And you are also allowed to use your GPS, phone and stereo as long as it is in a proper mounting system and you do not have to hold it.

And to answer the OP, I'd be amazed if you registered. Ethyl-Alcohol has a boiling point ~75c. So assuming your food reached this temperature when cooking (almost certain) and stayed there for more than a few seconds, there would likely be no alcohol left in it. Even if you used half a bottle of wine, there would have been ~ 35gm of alcohol in there. If we assume only half evaporated during cooking (likely to be more if it was boiling for more than 20-30 seconds) there would be ~17g left. If you then ate the ENTIRE meal, you would have 17gm of alcohol in your system which is 1.7 standard drinks. If it took you 30 minutes to eat the meal, and then watched TV for an hour, you would be unlikely to register a reading on a bretho.

Again, these calculations are really, really conservative ie, it's unlikely ANY alcohol would be let in the sauce, let alone 17gms, and of course it's unlikely you ate the entire meal you prepared.

[xALmoN]

its impossible to fully distill off the alcohol, and the alcohol is usually added in the last 10mins or so of the cooking time.

i cbf to dig up physical property data on the thing but i reckon it still requires quite a high amount of energy to boil off, whats the output of the stove? Lets do a quick energy balance.

[Cowboy1600]

its impossible to fully distill off the alcohol, and the alcohol is usually added in the last 10mins or so of the cooking time.

i cbf to dig up physical property data on the thing but i reckon it still requires quite a high amount of energy to boil off, whats the output of the stove? Lets do a quick energy balance.

From the US Department of Agriculture

Alcohol Burn-off Chart Preparation Method Percent Retained alcohol added to boiling liquid & removed from heat 85% alcohol flamed 75% no heat, stored overnight 70% baked, 25 minutes, alcohol not stirred into mixture 45% Baked/simmered dishes with alcohol stirred into mixture: 15 minutes cooking time 40% 30 minutes cooking time 35% 1 hour cooking time 25% 1.5 hours cooking time 20% 2 hours cooking time 10% 2.5 hours cooking time 5%

Based on this, I'd say 40% retain would be close. So that equates to ~15gm of alcohol assuming half a 750ml bottle of 13% wine was used. Eat 1/3 of that and you have ~5gm of alcohol in you, which is 0.5 standard drinks. 15 mins to eat the meal and 15 mins on the couch and it's gone.

[Rekin]

From the US Department of Agriculture

Alcohol Burn-off Chart Preparation Method Percent Retained alcohol added to boiling liquid & removed from heat 85% alcohol flamed 75% no heat, stored overnight 70% baked, 25 minutes, alcohol not stirred into mixture 45% Baked/simmered dishes with alcohol stirred into mixture: 15 minutes cooking time 40% 30 minutes cooking time 35% 1 hour cooking time 25% 1.5 hours cooking time 20% 2 hours cooking time 10% 2.5 hours cooking time 5%

Based on this, I'd say 40% retain would be close. So that equates to ~15gm of alcohol assuming half a 750ml bottle of 13% wine was used. Eat 1/3 of that and you have ~5gm of alcohol in you, which is 0.5 standard drinks. 15 mins to eat the meal and 15 mins on the couch and it's gone.

all this talk about alcohol is making me thirsty!

Thanks gdogzgtr for the answer!

[bozodos]

haha I'd been wondering about that too, given I have known people who've been told off by the local cops for having an open beer in the car!

[slinky-minky]

Thanks for the answer Graeme. I always wondered about that because a friend got in trouble for me having an open bottle of spirits in his car a few years ago, but I've never got in trouble when my partner is drinking in my car.

Cowboy- wow...thanks for the indepth answer. are you a chef or did you steal that off the net??

I use an electric frying pan, so when it's on high it's something like 120c

[joeyjoejoejuniorshabadoo]

its impossible to fully distill off the alcohol, and the alcohol is usually added in the last 10mins or so of the cooking time.

errr no...

the wine is used to deglaze the pan should be maybe 100ml's at most if cooking for 4 and this should be added to the pan while hot to strip the flavours from the bottom of the pan... it is not for the taste of the wine at all

the wine hits BOILING point instantly and will have 0% alcohol within a few seconds

[slinky-minky]

I don't deglaze my pan with it, what a waste of perfectly good wine.

I add it in the last 5-10 minutes, and I usually use about half a bottle, it makes the cream go much further and it makes my tea smell excellent.