iBreath, the iPod Breathalyzer attachment
iPod owners can now use their music player to measure their own breath's blood alcohol content, helping them determine if they're fit to drive. From the pitch:
This cool device is a fully functioning alcohol breathalyzer, which also doubles as an FM transmitter that wirelessly sends your iPod tunes to any FM receiver. This useful accessory will make a great holiday gift and is offered at an introductory price of $79.00.
"Here's This Season's "Must-Have" iPod Accessory That All The Celebrities in Hollywood Are Clamoring For."
It's offered as a "stocking stuffer," which underplays the utility of something which would literally save lives: perhaps they're worried that people wouldn't buy it for themselves. If nothing else, at $80, it better be accurate!
iBreath iPod Breathalyzer [iBreath]
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I imagine that this thing comes with a disclaimer longer than my arm.
so, if we lost the fm transmitter and ipod connectivity, how much would this thing cost?
@2 $20-50.
I'm always intrigued by these breathalysers. They encourage risk-taking, and beggar latent alcohol entry into the blood stream. If I could sink 4 pints of bitter in a couple of minutes, then breath into one of these, I'm sure it would say "you're in the clear to drive!"
I prefer the simpler Scandinavian approach I've read about - if you've had a drink, any drink, within the prior 36 hours of the police checking you, you're done like a turkey dinner.
A counter-argument to any disclaimers might be that the device lures you into drinking, then incapacitated reliance on it to secure you from conviction - i.e. it encourages you to cross the threshold, from which point all the responsibility should be theirs.
Check this out: http://www.alcoholalert.com/drunk-driving-statistics.html
It gives these gems:
In 2006, there were 13,470 fatalities in crashes involving an alcohol-impaired driver (BAC of .08 or higher) – 32 percent of total traffic fatalities for the year.
16,005 people were killed in the United States in alcohol-related* motor vehicle traffic crashes (BAC of .01 or higher).
In 2006, 1,794 children age 14 and younger were killed in motor vehicle crashes. Of those 1,794 fatalities, 306 (17%) occurred in alcohol-impaired driving crashes. Children riding in vehicles with drivers who had a BAC level of .08 or higher accounted for half (153) of these deaths.
The 13,470 alcohol-impaired-driving fatalities in 2006 were almost the same as compared to 13,451 alcohol-impaired-driving fatalities reported in 1996. Ten years of progress.
How about - don't drink and drive, folks. After all, Santa doesn't. It's Rudolf who has the red nose.
The breathalyser function doesn't integrate with the iPhone at all! What a rip! It's just pulling power, if that, from the iPod. Boo.
Yeah, using these small models is a poor choice if you're actually trying gauge ability to drive... First time I ever tried one I was in high school and had never had a beer in my life-- I blew a .02, which would have made me illegal to drive in my state (.08 is the legal limit for 21+ year olds, .02 for minors, which I was at the time). I wasn't on cough syrup or anything, either...
My brother got one of these as a gift last year, and 20 minutes after I had one drink I blew .00, .06, and .03 in rapid succession-- and the one he got was supposed to be a good one. They're wildly inaccurate, and I haven't heard much better about the police-issued devices, which is why every expert I've heard of says to get blood drawn rather than submit to a breathalyzer if you've had ANY drinks that night.
I drink VERY rarely, but I've been in the car with stone-sober drivers who were given sobriety tests enough to be concerned about surrendering any rights on that front.
You don't need one of these (disappointing if it doesn't even display it with a pretty animation on the iPhone's screen) gadgets to tell if you're fit to drive after drinking. I have a simple algorithm which serves me well (in an Inform 7-like syntax):
If I have drunk any alcohol, I will not drive.
Of course in an emergency situation then I'd probably start juggling units and average body masses and things, but it's far, far easier and safer most of the time to just go teetotal when driving. Is alcohol going to enhance your day enough that it's worth the risk?
I really wish public transport here didn't shut down at 10pm