This smartphone breathalyzer will tell you to order an Uber if you're too drunk
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Don't blow it on the road by driving drunk — blow it at the bar, first. Breathometer, a small device that connects to a smartphone and registers the user's blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) level after exhalation, is teaming up with popular ride service Uber to ensure intoxicated folks have a safe way home.
It works like this: If the Breathometer user's BAC is half the legal limit, he or she will have the option to "Get Home Safe" or "Stay Nearby." The "Get Home" selection then prompts a choice of ordering an Uber, grabbing a cab, or finding a designated driver. The "Stay Nearby" selection brings up options to grab some grub or find a room, giving the user time to sober up.
Over a million tests have been conducted by Breathometer since October 2014, and they found that over half of the users chose to order an Uber rather than finding another way home, but only 10 percent of tests actually resulted in an Uber request.
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Still, the partnership seems like a promising way to keep roads safe.
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Stephanie is an editorial assistant at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Modern Luxury Media.
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