Drunk driving remains a problem in Ohio and across the country, but the advent of new technologies is giving some hope that reducing the number of intoxicated drivers who get behind the wheel could be a click away. Several new apps help to monitor whether or not a driver is safe behind the wheel, and at least one county is already putting it into practice.
A KTHV reports, an Arkansas DWI court has started using Check BAC, an app that connects to a Bluetooth breathalyzer, to keep repeat DWI offenders from drinking and driving. Faulkner County officials say that the app records a video while a person does their breathalyzer, so they cannot have someone else blow into the tube for them. The offenders have to log into the app every three hours, and they can also do random tests throughout the day as well. The video and blood alcohol level are sent into a monitoring system, which alerts authorities if there is alcohol present, and then the person can be arrested.
According to Geektime, an app developer in Israel, who created an app to detect intoxication without a breathalyzer, has realized 93 percent accuracy in testing so far. The app, which runs in the background on a smartphone or wearable device, collects data on the user’s typical movements throughout the day and is able to detect changes that come with intoxication in the way a person walks. The developer hopes to be able to get his app to communicate with automotive technology as well, so when a person is intoxicated the app will tell the car not to start. This is still in production.