50 years ago this week, in November 1969, a new terror faced Irish motorists, as the Breathalyzer test was introduced in Ireland along with new drink driving laws which set the limit at 125mgs per 100mls of blood. State pathologist Dr Maurice Hickey estimated a man weighing 
11 stones would reach this limit after drinking at least two and three quarter pints or four small whiskeys, but no one knew for sure. The penalty for drunk driving was £100.00.00 and 6 months off the road.
Before the invention of the modern breathalyser in the 1950s, determining
Before the invention of the modern breathalyser in the 1950s, determining
if someone was too drunk to operate a motor vehicle was purely subjective. Tests such as “walking the line”, tipping one’s nose etc were all subjective. Gardaí now had the power to make suspected drink drivers breathe into it and, if the crystals turned from yellow to green,
then bring them to a Garda station where they would be obliged to give a blood or urine sample.
Development of the device began in the 1920s. LA Dr. Emil Bogen conducted a 1927 study on how to scientifically measure inebriation. By testing urine, blood, and breath, Bogen found
Development of the device began in the 1920s. LA Dr. Emil Bogen conducted a 1927 study on how to scientifically measure inebriation. By testing urine, blood, and breath, Bogen found
that the latter could indeed function as a reliable estimator for blood alcohol content (BAC). The breath test used a large football bladder that contained sulphuric acid and potassium dichromate. A patient would breathe into it, and as the chemicals in the football bladder
changed from yellow to various shades of blue and green, they were compared to tubes of the same chemicals to which different amounts of alcohol had been added. Effective, but not practical for roadside use. Chicago based W.D. McNally was pictured in the November 1927 issue of
Science and Invention magazine showing off McNally’s “breath analyzer.” He was a chemist whose early breathalyser-like device used the same principles as Dr. Bogen; blowing alcohol into the tube of the device would cause the chemicals to turn green.
Indiana University biochemist
Indiana University biochemist
Dr. Rolla N. Harger first announced his breath test method in 1931 & by 1938, his device (jokingly said the “Drunkometer”) was being tested by the Indiana State Police. There was also the Alcometer, developed in the early 1940s by Leon Greenberg and Frederic Keator at Yale, as
well as the Intoximeter, which was in use by the L.A. Police Department.
In 1954 Robert F. Borkenstein invented the Breathalyzer. Borkenstein had been hired as a police photographer at the Indiana State Police Lab in 1936, and quickly became interested in drunk driving thanks to
In 1954 Robert F. Borkenstein invented the Breathalyzer. Borkenstein had been hired as a police photographer at the Indiana State Police Lab in 1936, and quickly became interested in drunk driving thanks to
the work of Harger & his Drunkometer. In February 1954, during his annual two-week holiday, he built the Breathalyzer in the basement of his home, which he described as “so amazingly simple: two photo cells, two filters, a device for collecting a breath sample, about six wires.”
Gone were the football bladders and complex devices. As of Friday 26 October 2018, there are new penalties for ordinary fully licenced drivers detected by An Garda Síochána with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level of between 50mg and 80mg. A fixed penalty scheme applies
and in the event the case goes to Court then penalties increase.
Now you know.
Now you know.
