Sometimes a good idea is so obvious that you can’t believe no one has made it happen yet. That would seem to be the case with something called the Impair Aware Alcohol Level Indication System. It’s a machine you can put in a bar or restaurant that lets you measure your blood alcohol level so you know if you’re fit to drive or not. This takes the guesswork out of a guessing game that has been going on for generations. It has been introduced in the U.S. by Federico Forero, a longtime manager of a probation office in Atlanta, who saw the machine in use in bars in Europe. Here is some more information about the machine, and here is a press release.
As good an idea as this is, I am not sure how widely this machine will be adopted, in part because of the mixed incentives at play. Bar owners may scoff at having to buy a piece of equipment that may be seen as curbing sales. (On the other hand, the machine could help earn the bar owner some legal protection if a customer leaves the bar drunk and gets into an accident.) Also, the way it’s configured, a customer has to pay to use the machine — that’s how the bar owner is supposed to make his money back, by collecting fees for use. But will people be willing to pay, even a small fee, to find out news that they might not want to know? Would you weigh yourself in the bathroom every morning if your home scale cost $.50?
On balance, though, this seems to be a great idea. The true test would be to get data from the cities and towns in Europe where the machine has been used and look at trends in alcohol consumption, auto accidents, taxis called to bars, etc.
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Problems, even if it were accurate
1) it tests your b.a.l at that instant, not after all of the alcohol has worked it’s way into your blood stream.
2) b.a.l. is a legal definition but not an actual measurement of impairment itself, it doesn’t take into account if you’re also sleepy, are an inexperienced driver, etc. so it may encourage people that it’s okay to have one more drink, when it would be smarter not to, just because they won’t get jail time at their current b.a.l.
Like all things, it could be useful, it could backfire, so yeah, looking at what has actually happened elsewhere would be a good plan before implementing it widely.
Problems, even if it were accurate
1) it tests your b.a.l at that instant, not after all of the alcohol has worked it’s way into your blood stream.
2) b.a.l. is a legal definition but not an actual measurement of impairment itself, it doesn’t take into account if you’re also sleepy, are an inexperienced driver, etc. so it may encourage people that it’s okay to have one more drink, when it would be smarter not to, just because they won’t get jail time at their current b.a.l.
Like all things, it could be useful, it could backfire, so yeah, looking at what has actually happened elsewhere would be a good plan before implementing it widely.
I have no issue with this type of machine. After all its better than the MADD proposals of putting them in every car (actually MADD wants to ban all alcohol but I digress). But here is the problem – your level continues to go up for a while after you stop drinking. Your blood alcohol level could be .75 but be at .85 an half hour later with no addition intake.
I have no issue with this type of machine. After all its better than the MADD proposals of putting them in every car (actually MADD wants to ban all alcohol but I digress). But here is the problem – your level continues to go up for a while after you stop drinking. Your blood alcohol level could be .75 but be at .85 an half hour later with no addition intake.
I am scared of drunk drivers, and devices like this seem like a public good, and should be subsidized.
This is the same deal as those machines the police put on the side of the road to tell you how fast you’re going. I like to try to set the high score, but if you go any faster than 15 miles above the speed limit the machine simply says “SLOW DOWN.”
I am scared of drunk drivers, and devices like this seem like a public good, and should be subsidized.
This is the same deal as those machines the police put on the side of the road to tell you how fast you’re going. I like to try to set the high score, but if you go any faster than 15 miles above the speed limit the machine simply says “SLOW DOWN.”
I’ve seen these machines in pubs in the UK occasionally. I don’t know of anyone who has used one to decide whether to drive or not, my experience of them has been the same as the first post.
I’ve seen these machines in pubs in the UK occasionally. I don’t know of anyone who has used one to decide whether to drive or not, my experience of them has been the same as the first post.