CDOT Shows Off New Technology To Keep People From Driving Drunk
DENVER (CBS4) - Drink and don't drive, find your limit. That's the slogan of a new campaign the Colorado Department of Transportation is urging in downtown Denver over the Labor Day weekend.
"Last Labor Day weekend we saw over 1,000 people actually arrested for DUI and tragically three people lost their lives in alcohol-related crashes in Colorado," said Sam Cole with CDOT.
A team of six members hit the streets outside LoDo bars and urged drinkers to test their blood alcohol level through new smartphone breathalyzers.
"This one is made by Alcohoot, it actually plugs in to the jack on your phone," Cole said. "And it will tell me what my blood alcohol level is; since I've not been drinking it should be zero which it is. Last night we had people come through here we saw blood alcohol levels above 0.1 and you can be arrested at 0.05 in Colorado."
Cole says the outreach this weekend is about having fun, while showing people that real-time data can help them stay safe. The idea for CDOT to push technology on younger generations started after a partnership with the rideshare company Uber.
"This is about prevention this is about giving people practical tools so they know what their blood alcohol level is so they don't get behind the wheel when they're impaired," Cole said.
CDOT will be out again in LoDo Sunday night.
Jeff Todd joined the CBS4 team in 2011 covering the Western Slope in the Mountain Newsroom. Since 2015 he's been working across the Front Range in the Denver Headquarters. Follow him on Twitter @CBS4Jeff.
