Two new smartphone apps aim to reduce drunken driving, but they don’t come cheap.
Breathometer (iPhone and Android) and BACtrack (iPhone only) use sensor attachments to gauge blood-alcohol content, and the companies say the accuracy is within 0.01 percent, Reuters writes. Breathometer goes on sale in October for $49. BACtrack is available now for about $150.
Still, better a $150 app and attachment than a DUI, right? You can learn just how costly those can be in the video below.
“Just checking blood-alcohol levels can help you be more aware of your body. If you blow 0.02 percent or 0.04 percent you might think, ‘I better stop drinking,'” Breathometer CEO Charles Michael Yim told Reuters. His app, which comes with a plug-in attachment the size of a car key, can detect a user’s location and summon a cab.
The BACtrack app can track user drinking habits over time and allows the user to share his BAC over social media, Reuters says. (Sounds like a good way for a teen to incriminate himself.)
Both apps estimate when a user will become sober again. Breathometer’s device plugs into the phone’s headphone jack, while BACtrack’s operates wirelessly through Bluetooth, Reuters says.
What do you think of these apps? Will they encourage drinking up to the legal limit of 0.08, or help reduce drunken driving? Are they worth the money? Let us know on Facebook.
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