Motorists will be able to test their alcohol levels before getting behind the wheel thanks to a new breathalyser product launched by Trade & Industry Services Ltd.

The AlcoSense Breathalyser, which works on the same principles as Police breathalysers, gives a warning if you are over the limit or are close to it by monitoring your breath vapour.

And Michael Cordeiro, sales manager at Trade & Industry Services, said his company is selling the product because it wanted to do its bit to reduce drink driving accidents and fatalities.

This follows an incident in which the wife of Opposition Leader Kim Swan ended up in hospital after a suspected drunk driver was involved in a collision with the couple last Friday and subsequently arrested on suspicion of impaired driving and detained after failing an alco-analyser test, according to Police.

The technology was invented by Hunter Abbott, managing director of AlcoSense, who came up with the concept after his friend was caught by Police and failed a breath test the morning after they had been drinking together at a wedding. It was launched in September 2007.

Almost a year later, the product has hit the shores of Bermuda via exclusive distributors Trade & Industry Services and Mr. Cordeiro reckons it will go a long way towards cutting down on the number of drink driving incidents on the Island.

"At the end of the day, my boss is not really concerned about it as a money-making venture — he is more concerned with all this drinking and driving going on," he said.

"We are trying to do our part in reducing this type of activity and as long as we can break even on the product we are more than happy."

Mr. Cordeiro was approached by his boss Herbert Stirling, CEO of Trade & Industry Services, to market and sell the product and said he was more than happy to run with it, having seen one of his relatives sent to prison for a drink driving offence, with the belief that the incident could have been prevented if the breathalyser was available at the time.

He also tried out the new product on some of his friends, one of whom still registered over the limit the following morning despite feeling fine. Alcohol stays in the system for 14 to 15 hours after consumption.

"It could be the choice between about $100 for the breathalyser versus a $1,000 or more fine or a year's ban," he said.

"What is the investment ratio? It is next to nothing when you consider the ramifications of being off the road for a year — it is a small price to pay.

"Drinking driving has many side effects — it can lead to people getting injuries and time spent in hospital, loss of jobs and productivity and all the costs associated."

The company has brought in 100 models of the product, which looks like a cell phone and is quick and easy to use as well as handle, with around 12 sold so far, mainly through word of mouth, and has submitted a request for the Ministry of Finance to make it exempt from duty in order to pass on the saving to its customers, according to Mr. Cordeiro.

He said Government needs to endorse the product before it could get the backing from Police and the Road Safety Council.

The AlcoSense Breathalyser comes in two models — the Elite, which costs $130 and is self-cleaning complete with a clock, time and date, and the Lite, which retails at $95 and can be used 180 times before having to be recalibrated.

The product, which employs ASC and algorithm technology, meaning it can be used time and again without losing accuracy, includes five sterile straws (one per test) and a replacement pack of 20 straws can be purchased for $12.

Trade & Industry Services is the parent company of Continental Motors and Stirling Paint Services, which supplies Sikkens car refinishes and Kryton concrete waterproofing and repair.

For more information, contact 292-3094 or e-mail mike@peugeot.bm, or visit the AlcoSense website at www.alcosense.co.uk