The Alcobuddy – a True “Buddy” to any Barroom
There is no that one of society’s biggest issues these days is that of drunk driving. Every time you turn around, there’s another story in the paper or on the news about this or that tragic accident on the road caused by drunk driving. It’s an unfortunate truth and a real tragedy that people never feel as drunk as they are, and these people are the people who wind up endangering the rest of us when they get behind the wheel of a vehicle.
The Alcobuddy intends to change all of that, though. It is a wall-mounted machine designed to work like a police breathalyzer test, showing a patron exactly how much alcohol they’ve consumed, within .01 of their blood-alcohol levels. Placed in a bar, it makes it easy for a patron to have the cold, hard, numerical truth about whether they’re able to drive themselves home; and I’m sure these numbers can save lives.
This machine is made of steel and can hold up to six hundred straws – any kind of straws will do – and has a video screen on the front to help walk the customer through the process of testing their blood-alcohol level, and this set of instructions can be translated into any language you may need. The Alcobuddy is about the size of a large backpack, and can take credit cards instead of bills or coins. The size of the machine insures plenty of surface area for you to advertise your venue on, and should be mounted at eye-level to draw the most attention and curiosity from passers-by and patrons of your venue. The capacity of six-hundred straws and the long-lasting alcohol sensor mean that you’ll not have to make as many refill trips to each of your machines, and they’re the longest lasting of any in the industry. These facts are merely some of the features of the Alcobuddy, and there are many more for you to explore at the web site, www.alcobuddy.com.
But the features, though many, and the profitability of the machine are not the most important virtue of the Alcobuddy, because the Alcobuddy is far more than a vending machine. Drunk driving accidents are some of the most tragic, spawning songs and stories and affecting millions of people each year. Many deaths could have been avoided, both of drunk drivers and the innocent passengers in other vehicles, by a simple, easy to take breath test, a test that most people simply do not have access to. The Alcobuddy provides that access, and it seems to me that such a machine is worth pretty much any investment.
Give the Alcobuddy a shot; who knows, you could wind up saving someone’s life.
This ‘buddy’ doesn’t want you driving drunk LI man builds barroom breathalyzers
By Matthew Calamia
October 16, 2009
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| John Berlingieri recently installed the Alco-Buddy at Finn McCool’s in Westhampton, one of a growing number of Long Island watering holes to add his barroom breathalyzer. The machine is intended for entertainment only but gives patrons an accurate reading of their blood alcohol content, according to Berlingieri, who builds and distributes the machines. Photo by D. Willinger. |
A serious problem on Long Island and all across our nation today is drunk driving. People become intoxicated at bars and pubs then get in their cars and drive home, putting not only themselves at risk but everyone else on the road too. What if there were a machine in bars to let people know if they should drive or not?
While visiting Europe two years ago, John Berlingieri of Holbrook saw a product that calculated a person’s blood alcohol content, the factor that determines whether someone is legally drunk. Berlingieri thought it would be a no-brainer to bring this product stateside, and in February 2008 Alco-Buddy was born.
Alco-Buddy, which is in the process of being patented, resembles a small vending machine. For a price — often $2 — a bar patron can exhale into Alco-Buddy through a straw dispensed by the machine. Alco-Buddy calculates the customer’s BAC and displays that level for a few seconds — in green numbers if the level is legal and in red if it is above the legal limit of 0.08.
Since making his first machines in Bohemia, Berlingieri has begun selling them to bars and other establishments that serve alcohol. Thirty companies in over 15 states have ordered machines for their stores. Berlingieri, who had worked 10 years for his father at TENS Machine Company, an aircraft manufacturer on Long Island, now heads up his own company, which produces about a hundred Alco-Buddy machines per month.
According to Berlingieri, a bar owner who puts the machine in his or her establishment is showing concern for the customers’ well-being. If the owner can demonstrate to someone in the bar that he or she is legally drunk, there is a better chance of keeping the person from getting behind the wheel, Berlingieri said. BAC levels displayed by Alco-Buddy are not legally binding. Still, Berlingieri says his machines’ BAC readouts are accurate to within 0.02. He calibrates each machine himself by means of an alcohol mixture warmed to approximate the temperature of human breath. The BAC percentage is displayed for several seconds then vanishes. No printouts are given. The machine is officially “for entertainment only,” despite the potentially serious nature of a high BAC.
There are of course those bar patrons, according to Berlingieri, who prefer to use his machine solely for amusement, including a group of Marines in uniform he once saw competing to get the highest “score.” When he has observed customers doing that, Berlingieri said they had someone present to serve as a designated driver. He hopes the owners and staff of the establishments where he has installed Alco-Buddy — more than 15 Long Island watering holes to date — would encourage patrons whose BAC is over the legal limit to get a ride home.
Suffolk police did not respond to calls for comment on the barroom breathalyzer. But Berlingieri said he has got good reviews from police officers he has spoken with, who have told the inventive entrepreneur any tool that helps reduce drunk driving is viewed in a positive light. In the words of Berlingieri’s company motto: “Check yourself, before you wreck yourself.”
