BACtrack Mobile is a great way to convince your friends not to drive under the influence

Drinking and driving is a serious offence and should always be prevented. Most of us likely know a friend or know a friend or someone who often insists on driving after two beers, even though they shouldn’t.

It’s sometimes difficult to tell if someone is inebriated and basing blood alcohol level off how much the person drank that night is challenging considering everyone’s limit is different.

So what do you do in that sort of situation? Use some form of blood-alcohol detector — preferably a tech-enhanced one.

I’ve been testing out BACtrack Mobile’s breathalyzer, a device that allows you to self-test your blood alcohol level and comes with a convenient mobile app.

The BACtrack Mobile is easy use if you follow the device’s instructions. First download the Apple or Android app. Turn on the Bluetooth on your smartphone and press the ‘test’ icon on the display.

The app will provide a set of plainly laid out instructions to follow. Wait while it warms up, breathe in and then breathe out into the breathalyzer until it reads to stop. A number will show on the screen indicating blood alcohol level, without the user manual (or in the internet) supplying further information.

Before going out for the night, it’s probably good to know 0.05 is the number to beat. If deciding to have a beer or two for the night, testing below 0.05 means you’re in the clear, while testing above means there is too much alcohol in your system and if you get pulled over you’ll meet serious consequences.

In practice, using the BACtrack Mobile was sometimes difficult, however. In one instance while testing my friend’s blood alcohol level, the device didn’t display any results. Another time while using the BACtrack the device kept ‘warming up’ for a very long time, which was met with anger from my inebriated friend.

When the Backtrack worked, it worked well, however. Testing my friends it showed that they all shouldn’t get in front of the steering wheel of a car as they ranged from 0.05-0.10 blood alcohol levels.

Note the BACtrack Mobile has Uber built directly into its app, making calling a ride home for yourself or a friend easily accessible.

The BACtrack Mobile will also show when you’ll reach sobriety, however at least for me, I felt I reached sobriety long before that.

BACtrack Mobile will also inform you how you may be feeling, such as a “slight euphoria,” or a “loss of shyness,” with a warning that you may be too under the influence to drive. Lastly, the BACtrack Mobile comes with three washable mouth pieces and charges with an included micro-USB cord.

While I found that BACtrack Mobile is a helpful tool, a blood alcohol level shouldn’t be heavily relied on, if you have been drinking yourself, just take an Uber. Like myself it might tell you that you’re under the legal limit, but like the BACtrack Mobile you might be too inebriated to drive.