Analysis of the most popular online BAC calculators = Analiza najpopularniejszych dostępnych w sieci „kalkulatorów trzeźwości”

Abstract

In order to check their sobriety after drinking alcohol, drivers can use applications available online that perform prospective estimation of alcohol content, called ‘alcomat online’ or ‘BA C calculators’. The aim of the study was to analyse the method of performing calculations using ‘BA C calculators’ available on the Internet and to assess their reliability. The five most popular ‘calculators’ found in the Google search engine and a commercial one were analysed. The applications were tested by entering data on 10 cases of alcohol consumption by people were tested for alcohol content in exhaled air using the Alcotest 7510 analyser and alcohol curves were plotted for them. Then, real ethanol concentrations and complete ethanol elimination times for these people were compared with values calculated by the applications. The analysed ‘calculators’ base their calculations on various principles. Both the maximum alcohol concentrations and the time of their occurrence varied among the applications, but all seem to use the alcohol distribution coefficient established by Widmark. The use of individual elimination rates ranging from 0.12 to even 0.3‰/h was also observed. The time for complete alcohol elimination indicated by the applications was in most cases longer than the actual time. Online applications such as the ‘BA C calculator’ available to Polish users may be helpful tools for determining the time of complete elimination of alcohol from the body. However, due to the different calculation methods used in applications, which sometimes lead to different conclusions, they should be approached with great caution. These applications will not replace reliable sobriety tests, e.g. analysis of exhaled air.