Alcohol testing according to the letter of the law
Many people think that a few beers won't make a difference when they start driving. But they often do. A few glasses of alcohol can be the difference between a hefty fine and a mandatory driving skills course at your own expense. Or they can make the difference between causing an accident or coming home safely after a night out. It is therefore not without reason that the police, the Ministry of Justice, the Military Police and other law enforcement officers use professional alcohol tests for law enforcement. You can read why in this blog.
Need for alcohol testing for law enforcement
As we mentioned in the intro, there are still people who think that they can still drive a car with alcohol in their blood. They do it often and it always goes well, they say. But how can things go wrong for other people? They run over someone, they lose control of their car, or they fall asleep. In those cases, they not only endanger themselves; they are also a danger to other – innocent – people. For those who cannot resist consuming alcohol before driving, there are alcohol tests available for law enforcement. These are not the 'home and garden' alcohol tests that you buy at the Action or petrol pump. These are serious measuring instruments that flawlessly measure the amount of alcohol in the blood. If an alcohol test for law enforcement measures a blood alcohol level that is too high, you better check whether there is enough money in your bank account.
Laws & regulations surrounding alcohol
In the Netherlands, the law prescribes that you may have a maximum of 0,5 per mille of alcohol in your blood (or 0,22 mg of alcohol per liter of exhaled air). For inexperienced drivers with a driver's license for less than 5 years, the limit is 0,2 per mille. This does not mean that it is prohibited to drive while drinking alcohol. It does mean that you may only drink a very limited amount of one to a maximum of two glasses of alcohol.
Alcohol testing during alcohol checks
A law enforcement alcohol test inexorably indicates whether you have reached or exceeded the alcohol limit. So if you have more than 0.5 per mille of alcohol in your blood (0,2 for inexperienced drivers), you are punishable. Police use alcohol testing for street law enforcement. This is a device that you have to blow on. The police can see from the result whether you have drunk alcohol. Drank too much? Then follows a breath test at the station and a report or worse... The police also use other alcohol tests for law enforcement. During large-scale checks, the police use a so-called 'sniffer' with which they can detect alcohol use even more quickly.
Refuse alcohol test. Yes or no?
Can you refuse an alcohol test? Yes, that is possible, but it is punishable. So don't refuse an alcohol test. But above all: just don't drink alcohol before driving. You can try lying about two or three beers… Alcohol testing for law enforcement, on the other hand, never lies!