Phone Apps that Check Sobriety Level
The statistics from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) are frightening. Every day, 300,000 people drive drunk, yet only 4,000 are arrested. Every day, 28 people are killed in car accidents caused by drunk drivers. Why do so many people get behind the wheel of a car when they have been drinking? In surveys conducted in 2012, over 29 million people admitted to driving after they had been drinking. That number is more than the entire population of the state of Texas. The problem is many people who have had a few drinks do not always realize that they may be impaired. Alcohol impairment has nothing to do with the kind of alcohol you have consumed, but instead it is determined by the amount of alcohol you drink and the period of time you drink it in. In an effort to combat drunken driving accidents, there have been many apps developed that people can download on their smartphones, which will help them determine if they have had too much to drink and should not get behind the wheel of a car. One example is the BreathalEyes app, which uses the phone camera to record a user’s Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN). This is what law enforcement checks during a sobriety field test. HGN is when a person’s eye twitches or jerks when they look to the left or to the right. This commonly occurs when a person has been drinking alcohol. Some states have developed their own apps to help stop drunk drivers. Maryland has recently launched the ENDUI app, which estimates users’ blood-alcohol level. The app also has two games which can test users’ cognitive abilities. Wisconsin developed the Drive Sober app, which offers several options. The app estimates what the user’s blood alcohol content is and gives either a red or green light to drive. The app also offers Find A Ride and Designated Driver Selector features. Whether a person uses an app or not, the responsibility of not getting behind the wheel of a vehicle unless a person is sober lies with the person themselves. If you have been injured in an accident caused by drunk driver, contact an experienced New Braunfels personal injury attorney to find out what legal recourse you may have against the negligent driver.
