A new in-car alcohol tester has been launched that tests a driver’s alcohol level and, if necessary, uses a wireless system to automatically stop the car or van’s engine starting.

The hand-held device – Alcolock 500 – uses a police-standard breathalyser and can be programmed to a pre-set or zero-tolerance alcohol limit that the driver has to use before starting the vehicle.

Fleets who use the system hope to remove any doubt that drivers have excess alcohol in their bodies and therefore may not be able to drive responsibly and legally.

This is especially relevant for fleet managers with increasing legal responsibilities to ensure, and demonstrate, their drivers are operating at appropriate standards to protect themselves as well as any passengers or other road users.

‘We’ve already had a lot of interest from driving schools, fleet managers and coach and road haulage companies, and initial trials have proved very successful,’” said David Whittock, joint managing director of Alcolock GB.

The system can store results of up to 4,000 breath samples which can be downloaded or provide automatic reports.

For vehicles with multiple drivers, a driver’s reset button logs the change of driver and immobilises it until the system produces a positive result.