A state senator in Utah is studying the potential effects of putting Breathalyzers in bars. The legislator believes that putting the machines in bars would help with patrons, particularly younger ones in figuring out how much they actually have had to drink. For many people, by the time you have had a few too many your impairment makes it difficult to have an honest assessment of your level of intoxication. Having a Breathalyzer would allow someone to have an objective measure of their ability to drive.
The proposed bill would not require them to be placed in bars, but would prevent the bar from being liable. Many bars would worry that a customer would sue if they were later arrested for DWI after having received a reading from the bar that indicated that they were not intoxicated. The bill would also prevent law enforcement from having access to any readings taken by any suspected drunk drivers.
Recent data shows that in 2010, nearly a third of all drunk driving deaths in the United States were the result of drunk driving. Each machine would cost the bar somewhere in the neighborhood of about a thousand dollars and the bar would be able to charge whatever fee they saw fit to use the machine.
