Staying Safe On The Roads This Christmas: Q&A With AlcoSense’s Hunter Abbott

Staying safe on the roads this Christmas means more than just avoiding a drink before you drive – it’s the “morning after” that catches most people out.

With office parties, family gatherings and one too many mulled wines all part of the festive season, it’s worth knowing exactly how alcohol affects your ability to drive safely, and for how long.

We sat down with Hunter Abbott, Managing Director of AlcoSense and a member of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, to find out more.

Is this breathalyser set for all areas of the UK?

HA: The AlcoSense Excel can be easily set to work with any limit, not just UK and Irish limits. The user just chooses the limit they require, which is detailed in the manual, and off they go!

Is AlcoSense’s new Breathalyser police approved?

HA: No consumer breathalysers on the market, high-end or otherwise, are Police-approved, known as Home Office Approval.  This includes the new AlcoSense Excel. However, the AlcoSense Excel uses a smaller version of exactly the same sensor (identical in structure, formula and build) as used in several Police-approved breathalysers. This means that for the price point, the performance is exceptionally good.

What advice would you give people who have had a drink the night before but are driving the following day?

HA: It’s almost impossible to guess when the alcohol may have cleared from the night before, as everybody processes alcohol slightly differently.

And it’s not just about being below the limit. Studies show that if you drive while having just one eighth of the English drink-drive limit in your system (one fifth of the Scottish limit), you’re 37% more likely to be involved in a fatal accident on the road than when sober.* The only way to tell when the alcohol has cleared is to use an accurate personal breathalyser like the AlcoSense Excel.

How long should you use the breathalyser before buying a new one?

HA: The life of a breathalyser depends on the manufacturer and model; all AlcoSense products are made using premium components, which means they are designed to last, BUT you must have your breathalyser calibrated annually.

Any breathalyser, including a Police model, needs recalibration, as over a period of time the way the sensor reads changes slightly – this is called ‘drift’.

Think of it like a clock: if the time is set correctly on day one, one year later it may be slightly fast or slow. The higher spec the breathalyser, the less drift is usually experienced; however, after 12 months we recommend recalibration to ensure continued accuracy. It’s easy to do, just book it online at www.alcosense.co.uk/cal, and we will calibrate it, give it a full diagnostic check and send it back to you in a few days.

What effect do you think home breathalysers have had on people’s approach to drinking and driving?

HA: We started marketing breathalysers for public morning after use way back in 2008 after I personally had a close call a couple of years before.

We pioneered the research into ‘morning after’ drink driving and found almost one in five drink-drive prosecutions happen the morning after. Since then we’ve campaigned hard and increased awareness of this issue.

AlcoSense has given the public a reliable tool to test themselves before they get in the car, and we think it has had a positive effect, both from a direct prevention and awareness point of view.

The road safety organisation, Brake, recognised this in 2014 when they awarded the Kevin Storey Award for Outstanding Contribution to Road Safety to AlcoSense.

What advice would you give to people who are on the roads this Christmas?

HA: Everyone likes to celebrate this time of year, but be careful the morning after. AlcoSense gives you the tools to make an informed decision the morning after the night before. With our single-use products starting from only £ 2.99 a tester, there’s no excuse not to have one! On a wider road safety note, be careful, always pay attention and don’t let your phone – or its internet connection- distract you. Things can happen quicker than you think on the roads.

Since this Q&A was first published, the conversation around drink-driving limits in the UK has moved on significantly. The UK government is currently considering proposals to lower the drink-drive limit in England and Wales from 80mg to 50mg per 100ml of blood, bringing it in line with Scotland, where the lower limit has been in place since 2014. Hunter Abbott has continued to campaign publicly on this issue as part of his work with PACTS, making the advice below as relevant this Christmas as ever.

👉 Planning your Christmas Day cooking too? Make sure you’ve also read our Christmas pudding fire safety guide for more ways to keep the big day accident-free.