The Dutch government has figured out an ingenuous way to prevent intoxicated people to drive a car. It is an alcohol-lock. And it is very easy to operate, 
which is an essential design criteria presuming that intoxicated people will be the main user-group. Although it could also have worked should it be very complicated to use. By the time an intoxicated person will have figured out what to do with it, he or she will most likely be sober. And that is what it is all about, is it not?
which is an essential design criteria presuming that intoxicated people will be the main user-group. Although it could also have worked should it be very complicated to use. By the time an intoxicated person will have figured out what to do with it, he or she will most likely be sober. And that is what it is all about, is it not?
But it is not as fool proof as our politicians may think. There are several very easy ways to work around the 'stay put' effect of an alcohol-lock. Let me walk you through a few of them.
1) Bring your dog.
Yes, it is as simple as it seems. Let your dog breath in the apparatus instead of your self. Provided that your dog does not drink, alcohol that is, it should be clear sailing. Any dog? Well not quite. I would advise to not use a Saint Bernard. These dogs normally carry a can with brandy with them and you never know whether they have tried it themselves. The scotch collie is another one I would refrain from. It must be named after the amber colored liquid from Scotland for a reason.
2) Lease a kid.
But beware that the kid is not older than I would say 
primary
school age. Ten to one the kid has not developed a drinking habit itself and can thus do the breathing for you. After having been used by one
driver, the kid can be put to use to free another driver from his or her lock. A clearly workable
business model to be applied outside a pub or a big venue where alcoholic
beverages are likely to be consumed. In access that is.
primary
school age. Ten to one the kid has not developed a drinking habit itself and can thus do the breathing for you. After having been used by one
driver, the kid can be put to use to free another driver from his or her lock. A clearly workable
business model to be applied outside a pub or a big venue where alcoholic
beverages are likely to be consumed. In access that is.
3) Use your car.
This may seem a bit cryptic at first glance but it is very workable. It
does need a it of preparation in advance though. as in, make sure that there is always a length of
garden-hose in your car. Connect one end to the exhaust pipe
of the car, start the car and hold the other end in front of the mouth
piece of the alcohol lock. As the alcohol-lock does look for alcohol but not
for CO2, NOx and such you will be free to go. There can be a minor draw
back when you have just filled up with a mix of petrol and ethanol, which is quite common for environmental reasons these days. As methanol is quite similar to alcohol, it may trigger the
alcohol-lock. I am quite positive you would not get away in a drag-racer, powered by pure ethanol. But then, it would not be road legal as
the indicators are missing. And the rear view mirror. Make sure to disconnect the hose after use.
garden-hose in your car. Connect one end to the exhaust pipe
of the car, start the car and hold the other end in front of the mouth
piece of the alcohol lock. As the alcohol-lock does look for alcohol but not
for CO2, NOx and such you will be free to go. There can be a minor draw
back when you have just filled up with a mix of petrol and ethanol, which is quite common for environmental reasons these days. As methanol is quite similar to alcohol, it may trigger the
alcohol-lock. I am quite positive you would not get away in a drag-racer, powered by pure ethanol. But then, it would not be road legal as
the indicators are missing. And the rear view mirror. Make sure to disconnect the hose after use.
So, what could have been a brilliant idea of our politicians, a contradiction in terms I am afraid, does not seem to be having the expected effect. Not only is it very easy to work around, as I have shown, it also does not apply to other means of transport. Like for instance an airplane. This can turn into a far more dangerous projectile in the hands of an intoxicated person than a Reliant Robin. And it is not all imaginative either, as can be read in 'The Mail Online
- Pilot of private plane escorted off the jet and arrested for 'flying while drunk'
My advice to the politicians, aiding them to get their focus right, would be to aim their campaigns at a different target group with the slogan
'DON"T DRINK AND FLY'.
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