The Department of Transportation is hoping a new smart-phone app will help keep drunk drivers off the road. “Show Me My Buzz” is a free download now available on Android, and Apple will carry the product soon for iPhones.

The new drinking and driving prevention app calculates how many drinks you’ve had, your weight, gender, time span of consumption and then tells you if you’re OK to drive.

Hillis says as MoDOT continues to work with law enforcement in keeping drunk drivers off the road, it looked to one state’s program that’s working — Colorado.

And he says it offers solutions to those who get the red flag warning to stay off the road. The app can utilize smart phones’ GPS function and pull up nearby cab companies and their phone numbers for an alternative and a safe ride home.

Hillis says while the app is fun to use, the implications of drinking and driving are very serious. The app’s calculations pops up pithy answers like “Don’t even think about it!,” or your current hangover potential, but Transportation Engineer Don Hillis makes it clear … it’s no joke.

MoDot — and the app — reinforce that buzzed driving is not OK.

“Drinking and driving is always a bad decision because even a small amount of alcohol affects your reflexes,” Hillis says. 

“This new app is a creative way to get people talking about the subject and then finding a sober driver.”

“The added feature of finding a phone number for a taxi in more urban locations, takes away one more excuse for a person who has been drinking,” he says. “It is easy to just touch the button to call a cab.”

MoDOT and law enforcement officers stress that the BAC calculator is only a guide that calculates averages.

“Alcohol affects everyone differently,” MoDOT says.

“Influencing factors include food consumption, medication, health and psychological conditions. The best plan is to always designate a sober driver. A sober driver is someone who has not had anything to drink.”

He says he thinks people who try it will be surprised at how little they can drink an still be below the legal limit.

For more information, visit www.saveMOlives.com; or visit the department’s social network pages at www.facebook.com/saveMOlives and www.twitter.com/saveMOlives

AUDIO: Jessica Machetta reports [Mp3, 1:12 min.]