Diary – 28 November 2009

The man who invented the breathalyser more than 50 years ago was called Robert Borkenstein, a former policeman who had risen from the ranks to become head of the Department of Forensic Studies at Indiana University. He was very proud of his achievement. ‘If we can make life better simply by controlling alcohol, that’s a very small price to pay,’ he once said. ‘My whole life’s work has been spent trying to make life better for people.’ Well, he didn’t make it better for me. I lost my driving licence in September last year after failing a breath test in Buckinghamshire. Having a flat tyre on my way home from a Sunday birthday celebration, I pulled into a lay-by on a country road and dozed off at the wheel while awaiting the arrival of the AA. A passing member of the public — perhaps a good citizen fearing I was dead, or perhaps not — called the police.