Everyone knows there is an app for almost anything these days. Using your SmartPhone, you can do everything from waste your days playing Angry Birds to paying your bills or checking out restaurant reviews. Soon, you will also potentially stay safer and save lives with an upcoming app that tests your blood alcohol level. 
Our New York City accident attorneys know that thousands of people are killed or injured each year as a result of intoxicated drivers. In many cases, those who get behind the wheel drunk do so not because they intend to make a dangerous choice but because they just aren’t aware they’ve had too much to drink. A new app could change all that by giving you a way to instantly get a handle on your BAC.
App Can Let You Know When You’re Over the Limit
According to MSN Autos, a California start-up company has created the first ever blood alcohol tester that works on a smart phone. Called the Breathometer, the device is plugged into the headphone jack on your smart phone. An installed application on the phone then lets you know when you are over the limit.
The device would work on both Android phones and iPhones. In addition to letting you know that you are over-the-limit, the app would also offer advice on alternative options to driving, such as providing you with details on local taxi-cab companies.
Of course, the device is not available for purchase yet. According to MSN Autos, a spokesperson for the company indicated that the product is patent-pending and that approval is being sought from the FDA. The product isn’t necessarily funded either, as the creators have launched a crowdsource campaign to raise the money to bring the Breathometer to the market.
The fundraising efforts solicit pledges from $20 to $500, with $20 buying you the right to own your very own Breathometer and with a $500 pledge giving you the right to a lifetime upgrade of all Breathometer products that may come out in the future.
If all goes well with approvals and funding, the Breathometer should be available for general purchase by this summer.
Avoiding Drinking and Driving Accidents
The hope is that the Breathometer will alert you to a dangerous situation when you might be too drunk to drive so you won’t make a bad choice because you aren’t thinking clearly.
The best thing to do in every situation, however, is to simply avoid drinking and driving in the first place. Even being a little tipsy can impair your ability to drive safely, whether you are over-the-limit or not. Further, everyone’s body responds differently to alcohol and it can be hard to assess accurately whether you are fully alert or whether the alcohol is compromising your ability to drive as well as you could. Not only that, but since alcohol is a depressant, even having one drink could potentially make you more likely to drive drowsy.
If you do plan to have a drink and then get behind the wheel, you don’t need to wait for the Breathometer to come out in order to have your own breath test to make sure you can drive safely. There are lots of other devices that measure blood alcohol content which sell for a small amount of money and which can even fit on your keychain.
The Law Offices of Nicholas Rose, PLLC offers free consultations. Call 1-877-313-7673.
