As a blogger I occasionally get sent some weird shit to test and write about, usually clothes. But after signing up to receive products from Maplin was surprised to be sent an Alcohol Breath Test. How do they know me so well?!
It’s a portable, keyring size tester. Obviously, anything that can be done to ensure people don’t drink and drive is a good thing. And the fact this device is so small and easy to carry around with you is a definite plus. It costs £9.99 and to be honest it does feel quite cheap.
A few negatives are that firstly it doesn’t come with any batteries and requires two AAA size. Now if you are the sort of idiot that has a propensity to drink and drive, I doubt you are the sort of person who keeps triple A batteries to hand.
But once you do get it working it is relatively easy to use although I found that the green, amber, red LED system to indicate what level of intoxication you were at, if not exactly confusing, not particularly impactful. Perhaps because of it’s relatively cheap feel and the fact the warning signs weren’t very “in your face” it felt like something that people would easily ignore. It would be more impactful if there was some sort of written message I think – “YOU ARE OVER THE LIMIT – DRINK DRIVING KILLS”, that sort of thing.
Also, this is the sort of thing that needs to be given out free. People who drink and drive are unlucky to go out of their way to purchase a breath test. So in summary, I dunno… 3/5.
Hopefully, they will send me a PlayStation or something next time.
