A new smartphone app rolled out Friday of St. Patrick’s Day weekend seeks to help prevent drunken driving in Wisconsin, according to a Department of Transportation statement.
As part of its “Zero in Wisconsin” campaign, DOT launched a new “Drive Sober” smartphone app. Among the app’s functions are a blood alcohol estimator, a spin-the-bottle game to choose a designated driver and a GPS-led alternate transportation finder.
State Patrol Major Sandra Huxtable, the director of DOT’s Bureau of Transportation Safety, said the app would help reduce drunken driving by presenting people with options.
“What we’re striving to do is just put more information into peoples’ hands,” Huxtable said. “We want them to have some information so that even if they went out and drank, they at least made a responsible decision not to drive.”
The “Find a Ride” function uses GPS technology to give users numbers for multiple local taxi companies and a number and website for bus services.
The app’s blood alcohol estimator includes a warning that it is only an approximation, reminding potential drivers if they have a blood alcohol content above 0.08, police can arrest them for drunken driving.
University of Wisconsin Police Department Sgt. Aaron Chapin said he would discourage people from using the blood alcohol content estimator because it may lead students to believe they are sober enough to drive when really they are not. He said people should arrange plans before drinking, rather than after.
Huxtable said the app is not just a way for those who are already out to find an alternate way home, but also a way for people to make plans before they drink on how they would get home.
Rachel Lepak, student representative for the Alcohol License Review Committee, said although the app is a good idea, many UW students do not have cars on campus, so drunken driving is not as big of an issue.
Associated Students of Madison Legislative Affairs Committee Vice Chair Morgan Rae said UW students who go to bars on State Street often take taxis that are allowed on the street during bar time to get home safely.
Both said the app would still be useful, especially for non-UW students who come to campus for events like the Mifflin Street Block Party or St. Patrick’s Day. Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, agreed.
“It’s one of those things that raises awareness,” Resnick said. “It at least gets you to conscientiously think about, ‘Am I too intoxicated to drive?'”
Julia Sherman, alcohol policy project coordinator for the UW Law School’s Resource Center on Impaired Driving, praised DOT for using new technology, although she said it has to be part of a broader campaign.
“We know empirically that information alone does not change behavior, and impaired driving is sadly in this state a behavior,” Sherman said. “I give them big points for innovation, but it still needs to be part of a comprehensive program.”
DOT is marketing the app through commercials that launched this weekend, Huxtable said.
The app is available for free downloads on DOT’s Zero in Wisconsin website, zeroinwisconsin.gov.
