Over The Limit!

Last night I took a Breathalyser Test. Not because I wanted to see if I was sober enough to drive, it was bed time anyway and we had spent the evening infront of the fire, watching 'Eastenders' and 'Masterchef Australia' as we do every evening (unless it is the weekend and then it is sport!) We had seen our swimmers and our runners coming first and second at the Commonwealth Games, we had finished our chocolate, and I had finished my two and a half glasses of wine (with plenty of ice).
So as you can see, I wasn't going anywhere but up the stairs!

So why the breathalyser? Read on;

On Monday afternoon we drove through to Saldanha to the Community Hall where a number of our Municipal folks were waiting with their computers and papers to answer any questions/queries/complaints that we Ratepayers of Ward 5 may have. Now, we have been complaining bitterly about the dust from the gravel road that blows into our home like sand in a storm in the Sahara. We have written letters, we have had 'experiments' carried out on the road outside our house, but the wind simply carries on blowing and the dust carries on billowing. We have gathered letters from the neighbours up and down the road and we are fairly desperate to have something done. After all, we pay our rates every month and we get nothing in return. I lie, we have Street Lights! But go and look at Langebaan to see what we could have.. should have!

So, while Rob was getting the latest Budget print out and muttering to the lady about the roads, I wandered off to the next table where there were three very smart men in uniform who I thought were with the Traffic Police, as I wanted them to come and catch all the speeding drivers who ignore STOP signs and help to kick more dust as they fly over the speed-bumps.

They were nothing to do with the Traffic Police actually, they were from the Fire Department, so I told them about the traffic and they promised to pass the message on. And we chatted about all kinds of things and I left with some little books, a cut-out doll to dress in cut-out uniform, a cardboard fire-engine to build.... and two breathalysers!

Free from the Western Cape Government!

These are for home use, so if you are out having a party and it is time to go home, you can test yourself to see if you are safe to drive. Most people don't bother to think about that, they simply get in the car and weave their way home.

Which brings me to the point of all this rambling. I decided to test myself last night, so I brought the breathalyser out, we read the instructions, Rob fixed the mouthpiece to the bag, and I blew into the bag until it was full.

Easy to follow... unless you are drunk!

Then I squeezed the bag gently so the exhaled air from me, passed through the tube that is filled with crystals of some kind.
And.... it changed colour to show that I was Over The Limit!! Not badly over, if you look at the red line, the green is only just above it. If I was really drunk the green would be up to the top of the crystals.

My green matched the last green!

I didn't feel Over The Limit, but it shows just how little alcohol is needed for someone to need a lift home!

And that is a major problem in this country. The number of deaths caused by drunk driving  is horrendous. Pedestrians staggering into the road. Drivers falling asleep. Head-on collisions. Slow reaction time due to a fuddled brain!

All could be avoided. I did the test for fun, and it showed that I was in no fit state to drive. But I felt fine... and that is the trouble.

It makes you think.