City of Calgary Traffic Breathalyzer iPhone App

[thetransporter]

Should the city make one?

x_1z2mAKEY8

[you&me]

How would that work? :dunno:

Edit - Posted before video showed

[bspot]

You realize iPhones don't have built in hardware to measure BAC, right?

There is no app for that.....

[thetransporter]

Originally posted by bspot
You realize iPhones don't have built in hardware to measure BAC, right?

There is no app for that.....

i assumed so but everyone keeps depending on their iphone as a universal tool and depends on the city for everything. maybe they can make a BAC sensor :dunno:


i am not drinker so I am not sure what would be best.

[thetransporter]

Siemens develops mobile phones with alcohol sensor
There seems no end to the number of diverse and clever technologies destined to find their way into the handheld device formerly known as the mobile phone.

In recent times we've seen voice and lie detection analysis, projection keyboards, terrestrial television reception, health heart-rate and diet monitoring, location tracking, and this week there's a holographic projection screen and a breath analyser. One that can not only tell you when you're over the blood alcohol limit, but also tell you when you've got bad breath. Indeed, we could easily use this device to measure the efficiency of our breathing and track it alongside the heart rate, calorific input and output and location to micromanage our health.

Rumours have it that Siemens plans the installation of tiny gas analysis sensors into a future mobile telephone and perhaps other handheld devices. Time to market is estimated at mid-2006 and one can only imagine what technologies might be seeking a home in your pocket by then.

[Kavy]

Originally posted by thetransporter


Rumours have it that Siemens plans the installation of tiny gas analysis sensors into a future mobile telephone and perhaps other handheld devices. Time to market is estimated at mid-2006 and one can only imagine what technologies might be seeking a home in your pocket by then.

I can't wait to see all the crazy devices that come out in 2006, Brb left my delorean running.

[ercchry]

:nut:

[clem24]

^^ LOL

In all honesty, I can't even see anyone like Siemens or Apple would even want to play that game. Imagine you are completely hammered, yet you let your phone analyze your breath, says your all clear, and then proceed to drive. Rage's thread of BAC testers vs. actual drunkeness should be a testament to how often this would happen. And to also get it accurate too...

In any case, it's been pointed out before, if someone wants to drive drunk, they will.

[J-hop]

Originally posted by Kavy


I can't wait to see all the crazy devices that come out in 2006, Brb left my delorean running.

He copied and pasted a 2003 article from gizmag, the second coming of markham? :rofl:

[clem24]

Originally posted by J-hop


He copied and pasted a 2003 article from gizmag, the second coming of markham? :rofl:

Not really.. That's about 2 keystrokes and 3-4 clicks more than Markham would ever do.

[JustGo]

That's great!

So now when a bunch of idiots go out to the bar, they'll drink until the app says they are 0.07, then drive home, still thinking they are okay! What a great invention!! :thumbsdow

[thetransporter]

Originally posted by J-hop


He copied and pasted a 2003 article from gizmag, the second coming of markham? :rofl:

lol
i pasted it cause i was curious if it actually went anywhere..

i dont run a news site i just was showing stories for common interest on here.

[ExtraSlow]

This would be pretty neat actually if you combind it with a "real" test like rage2 did. you could calibrate this app a few times and I bet it would be pretty accurate.

Big flaw in this is that you've got drunk people, who have to enter in detailed information about the time and type of drinks.
Probably just garbage in = garbage out once you get a bit tipsy imo.

[bituerbo]

This wouldn't be remotely accurate. What a piece of garbage, how did this even get in the App Store? They really need better content filters.

[Modelexis]

Originally posted by JustGo
That's great!

So now when a bunch of idiots go out to the bar, they'll drink until the app says they are 0.07, then drive home, still thinking they are okay! What a great invention!! :thumbsdow

The major flaw with the app is the problem that you have after you've been drinking where you lose skills such as pressing small phone buttons and remembering how many drinks you had and remembering to log the correct amount.

[JustGo]

Originally posted by Modelexis


The major flaw with the app is the problem that you have after you've been drinking where you lose skills such as pressing small phone buttons and remembering how many drinks you had and remembering to log the correct amount. The major flaw with the app is that 0.08 is not some magical number where, once you reach it, you're instantly a hazard to drive. Most people shouldn't be driving at 0.07, 0.06, 0.05 or even 0.04. The fact that this app gives people the impression that they would still be able to drive at 0.07 would put countless peoples lives at risk. 'Well, I feel like I'm gonna puke, and everything is blurry, but this app says I'm good to go...!!'

Not very neat.

[Modelexis]

Originally posted by JustGo
The major flaw with the app is that 0.08 is not some magical number where, once you reach it, you're instantly a hazard to drive. Most people shouldn't be driving at 0.07, 0.06, 0.05 or even 0.04. The fact that this app gives people the impression that they would still be able to drive at 0.07 would put countless peoples lives at risk. 'Well, I feel like I'm gonna puke, and everything is blurry, but this app says I'm good to go...!!'

Not very neat.

Canadian legal system treats .08 as a magical number where if you reach it you lose your licence, but if you are slightly under it you get a lesser penalty. The law gives people the impression that they would still be able to drive at 0.07.

You are looking at an effect of a poorly thought out law, it's not the effect that is really flawed here, it's the laws. Preaching to the iphone app programmers is wasting your energy, you should be preaching to the people who made the laws without regard for the fact that as you were saying "Most people shouldn't be driving at 0.07, 0.06, 0.05 or even 0.04" and I would also add that some people can drive above .08 perfectly fine.

[JustGo]

I agree with everything you just said, with the exception that you say I'm 'preaching'. I'm simply saying it's a stupid app that will give people the false impression they can still safely drive, when without the app telling them they're fine, they may not risk it.

Guy without the app feels drunk, light headed, blurred vision. He thinks, 'I'm too drunk to drive' and gets a cab.

Guy with the app feels drunk, light headed, blurred vision. He looks at his phone, it tells him he's at 0.06, he puts himself and others in danger thinking he's good to drive.

I realize not everyone is that dumb, but I am 100% sure there are idiots out there that would rationalize this way.

It's a stupid app, we have stupid laws where 0.08 is portrayed to be the be-all, end-all magic number, when as we've both said, it's not that simple. Some people can drive fine past it, and some people should have taken a cab far before it.

[Modelexis]

Originally posted by JustGo
I agree with everything you just said, with the exception that you say I'm 'preaching'. I'm simply saying it's a stupid app that will give people the false impression they can still safely drive, when without the app telling them they're fine, they may not risk it.

Guy without the app feels drunk, light headed, blurred vision. He thinks, 'I'm too drunk to drive' and gets a cab.

Guy with the app feels drunk, light headed, blurred vision. He looks at his phone, it tells him he's at 0.06, he puts himself and others in danger thinking he's good to drive.

I realize not everyone is that dumb, but I am 100% sure there are idiots out there that would rationalize this way.

It's a stupid app, we have stupid laws where 0.08 is portrayed to be the be-all, end-all magic number, when as we've both said, it's not that simple. Some people can drive fine past it, and some people should have taken a cab far before it.

Would you have the same criticism for a breathalyzer exactly to the spec and calibration that the police use, and for people that take this unit out with them to make sure they are .04 before they drive?
Then would you call the breathalyzer a stupid unit that gives people a false impression that they're good to drive?

If someone is willing to risk their life, their drivers licence, other lives, and their own liver, is it really a drunk level approximation the issue here?
It's kinda like criticizing guns for giving people the false impression that they are invincible.

Or the hammer game at the fair for giving people the false impression they have super human strength?

[[Yu]]

Originally posted by Modelexis


Would you have the same criticism for a breathalyzer exactly to the spec and calibration that the police use, and for people that take this unit out with them to make sure they are .04 before they drive?
Then would you call the breathalyzer a stupid unit that gives people a false impression that they're good to drive?

If someone is willing to risk their life, their drivers licence, other lives, and their own liver, do you really think it's useful to criticize an Iphone app?
It's kinda like criticizing guns for giving people the false impression that they are invincible.

He might not, but I do. Fuck you are annoying, the only thing good about you is the fact that your avatar is the Mayor of the World.

[Modelexis]

Originally posted by [Yu]
He might not, but I do. Fuck you are annoying, the only thing good about you is the fact that your avatar is the Mayor of the World.

The term you're looking for is 'persistent'
Annoyed is the way you feel, but that doesn't mean (necessarily) I am objectively annoying.

If you were more honest you would have posted something like "Your posts fucking annoy me"

[JustGo]

Damn, you are annoying... even when I completely agree with you, you look for ways to argue something.

:facepalm:

[Modelexis]

Life is just too boring if everyone agrees ;)

[Mar]

They should make this so the phone doesn't function above a certain level. Would have saved me a lot of damage control from drunk dialing back in the day.

[davidI]

I missed a lot of the debate on this since Modelixis is on my IL, but I just wanted to point out that in Montreal they have breathalyzer machines at a lot of the parkades. I think it all comes down to liabilities....Quebec has a different legal system so the Frenchies can get away with it. Can't see anyone taking on the potential liabilities in Alberta.

[Eleanor]

Also, please correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't DUI and over the legal limit two separate charges?