Originally Posted by
SeenItAll
Just a question, but exactly how accurate are breathalyzers? Is a reading of 0.02 significantly different from 0.01? I would guess that they have a certain amount of error, and only a blood test can give you a really accurate reading.
In the UK for drivers breath analysis is all that's required, the limit is 35 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath. There used to be an option of blood test for marginal fails but that was abolished a few years ago. Not sure of position with blood test option for aviation functions where there is a lower limit but Police Station intoximeters are highly sophisticated, regularly calibrated and it's very rare for them to be proven wrong.