This is very interesting indeed

Breathalyzer tests in Tucson bars

Drunk Driving is a big problem in Southern Arizona.

Between Thanksgiving and New Year's this year, more than 500people were arrested for D-U-I, in the Tucson Metro area.

Some Tucson Bars are trying to be pro-active, giving out breathalyzer tests.

It's called the "Impair Aware Breath Alcohol Tester".

It will cost you a dollar to use the machine.

You take a straw from the machine, blow into it, and then your blood alcohol content will show up on the screen.

The machine is only in six bars and nightclubs throughout Tucson.

At the Old Father Inn, Customers like Steve Liwaj think the machine is a good idea.

Liwaj says, ""I think the machines are a really good idea because you never really know when you have a drink or two drinks, what your level is."

Old Father Inn Owner Brian Bouffard says, "We're seeing a lot of activity on it, mainly groups of people that are concerned about their friends and they want to make sure they're ok, and it they're not after they blow in the breathalyzer they determine a way to get them home."

Across town at the Hideout Bar and Grill, customers can also take advantage of the machine.

Hideout owner Bob Malone says, "Every once in a while we give people a dollar just to let them know, and we'll call them a cab if we have to."

In an effort to be balanced, we asked Tucson police about the breathalyzer machine.

T-P-D officials think it's a bad idea and say there's no scientific basis for it.

NEWS 4 contacted Jim Ferreira, the president of "Breath Alcohol Testers", the company that distributes the machine.

He says he calibrates the machines every two weeks and makes sure they're as accurate as possible.

The local distributor of the breathalyzer machine hopes to have 30 of these machines in bars and clubs throughout Tucson by the end of they year.

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I think this is a great idea. As someone who has lost VERY good friends to drunk drivers I am all for 100% enforcement and prevention, and prevention is what this falls under.

I am curious as to why the Tucson PD thinks its a bad idea, and WHO at TPD said that. They must be frickin nuts.

Anything that lets people know that they are too imparied to drive is a good thing. Maybe Tucson PD doesnt like the idea that someone will actually take a cab home and they are missing out on revenue from a DUI arrest.

Just saying