This McDonald's Will Breathalyze Customers to Keep Drunk People Out

A McDonald's branch in Cambridge, England will start using breathalyzers on its customers in an effort to keep drunks out. According to the Daily Mirror, customers will blow into the machines before being allowed in; those who blow twice the legal driving limit (which is about .08, similar to the United States) will be denied entry. Also, soft drink bottles and cans will be analyzed for traces of hidden alcohol.

It's unclear if these protocols will be followed all the time at this McDonald's branch, which is open 24 hours a day, or only during certain times. This move by local police seems to be part of a wider plan to curb public drunkenness and hooliganism. Fans of the local football club (or "soccer team," for you Americans), Cambridge United, will be forced to pass a breathalyzer test before being admitted to home games.

Some are already protesting the measure. Not surprisingly, many of those people are in college. Trinity College freshman Declan Amphlett  complained to his college newspaper, The Tab, "This new measure is a flagrant and horrific violation of our human rights."

The police commissioner in Cambridge, Sir Graham Bright, stated that it's simply a matter of public safety: "The trend these days is for people to ‘preload' with alcohol at home before heading out. The result of this can be that people are very drunk towards the end of the evening, putting themselves and others at risk."

Every person who is turned away from this McDonald's branch will receive a small scratchcard warning them of the dangers of binge drinking, and encouraging them to cut down their alcohol consumption.