MoDOT Encourages "Show Me My Buzz"

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JEFFERSON CITY - MoDOT said Monday its "Show Me My Buzz" phone application could come in handy this holiday season. "Show Me My Buzz" estimates a person's BAC level and can call a local cab if needed.

MoDOT created the application in August after hearing about a similar application in Colorado. The app is available for free for iPhones and Androids. Currently, 35,000 people have downloaded the app from Apple.  MoDOT Outreach Coordinator Sandra Hentges said this app could prevent crashes this holiday season.

"Between Thanksgiving and New Years there's usually an increase across the board in all traffic fatalities, particularly impaired driving fatalities, so it would be a great thing for people to download," Hentges said.

 Hentges said MoDOT is always looking for ways to help people not drink and drive.

"Part of our mission is to reduce fatalities on Missouri roadways, so we're always looking for ways to reduce the causes of crashes, which one of those is impaired driving," Hentges said.

The app calculates a person's BAC based on weight, gender, hours spent drinking  and number of drinks. If the person wants to call a cab, he or she is able to press the "TAXI" button for a local cab number. The taxi button is bartender Russell Osborne's favorite feature of the application.

"To just hit 'call' and not have to go to your Yellow Pages app and type in names and all that, just call a cab right from your screen when you realize you're too drunk, that's an awesome feature," Osborne said.

Working as a bartender, Osborne said he thinks this application would make dealing with intoxicated customers an easier task.

"It's impossible to tell a drunk person they are too drunk," Osborne said, "so then you can show them that they are too drunk."

While the app works great to estimate one's BAC, Hentges said as a reminder that it cannot be considered legal evidence of a person's BAC.