Smartphones can help Georgia residents make quick decisions while on the go. Need to check the weather forecast before deciding what to wear for the day? There’s an app for that. Trying to figure out which restaurant to eat at while in a new neighborhood? There’s an app for that too. Want to know if you will run into traffic on your way to work? Well, you get the point.
However, there is at least one thing your smartphone cannot do yet, and that’s letting you know whether you are legally drunk or not. Recently, a woman was arrested and charged with DUI after she was caught driving on the wrong side of the road. Police suspected that she had been driving while under the influence of alcohol, but the woman claimed that she was not legally drunk. She told police that she had taken a breath test using an app on her iPhone and the app showed that her blood alcohol level registered at zero.
The incident happened a few weeks ago in Connecticut. According to reports, the woman used an iPhone app that is meant to be used by folks who are attempting to prevent a friend or relative from driving drunk. Users of the app enter in a blood alcohol level that exceeds the legal limit of 0.08. Then the user has his or her friend blow into the iPhone to take a “breath test.” The app then displays the blood alcohol level that had been entered in by the user prior to the test.
When the woman used her iPhone app, the app displayed a blood alcohol level reading of zero. Because the app showed that she was not legally drunk, she decided that it was okay for her to drive. According to police, the woman was spotted driving on the wrong side of the road. She was pulled over and police administered a field sobriety test. The woman allegedly failed the test and was arrested.
Once in custody, police measured the woman’s blood alcohol content. Results later revealed that the woman’s blood alcohol content was above the legal limit. The woman was charged with DUI.
Source: Norwalk Patch, “iPhone App “Showed” Woman She’s Sober; Gets Charged With DUI,” Harold F. Cobin, May 29, 2012