The CEO of Goslings Limited said people who have even just one drink shouldn't drive a vehicle.

As part of Alcohol Awareness Month patrons of pubs are now able to test themselves to see if they are over the limit with free hand-held breathalysers.

Centre of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Centre (CADA) chairman Anthony Santucci said the alcohol breath-tests were potential life-savers.

"I certainly think it has the potential not only to save lives but as importantly to save accidents and collisions," Mr. Santucci said on Friday. "We just need customers at bars to have the tools to make the right choice and if people are given the opportunity to make the right choice they are going to make the right choice.

However, Nancy Gosling, CEO of Goslings Limited and owner of Square One nightclub said even people who have just one drink should not operate vehicles of any kind.

"I think this is a nice tool but my personal opinion is that if you have one drink you should not even consider driving. I know there is an impairment limit but Bermuda's traffic is a nightmare anyway," Ms Gosling said. "People that want to have a drink should not drive.

"I have two teenagers driving on the road and I do not like the thought that they could be hit by people," she said. "I see people driving erratically. Obviously I sell alcohol but sometimes it impairs your judgment and I don't think you should get behind the wheel with it."

The CADA chairman said the PreVent alcohol test gave customers a measurement to determine whether they were over the legal alcohol limit.

"All you have to do is press the crystals, blow in it for ten seconds, if the crystals turn blue then you shouldn't drive home," Mr. Santucci said. "Get an alternative means of getting home, get a cab or get a lift."

Mr. Santucci said the PreVent test provided bar-owners with a tool to determine if customers were drunk or not.

The PreVent tests are available at Cafe Cairo, Swizzle Inn, North Rock Brewing Co. Ltd., Barracuda Grill, Pickled Onion, Hog Penny, Bermuda Bistro (formerly the Beach Bar), Coconut Rock, Henry VIII, Frog & Onion and Square One, he said.

"Those are the bars they will be in initially, obviously we are looking to get more bars on as the month evolves," he said.

The testers were not toys, he said, and he expected customers to use them responsibly.

"We have several thousand of them which we will continue to issue throughout the month of April for free," he said. "At the end of that process we will obviously review the programme once again if they are popular and are having a significant impact."

Dennis Carter, marketing manager of Cafe Cairo, supported the breathalysers.

"The way we are going to encourage it is that I will encourage my security staff to hand them out when people are leaving the premises until further notice."