If think you might be drunk, you can use one of the many phone apps to determine alcohol intoxication including phone attachable breathalyzers. But how can someone tell if they’re capable of operating a vehicle after taking some prescription meds? Or after they’ve smoked marijuana for those in Washington and Colorado? As it turns out, there’s an app for that now as well.
It’s called CheckPlusBalance and it provides a personal performance test for those abilities that a person needs to operate a vehicle safely; memory, balance, reaction, and time. Users can create, what the app calls, a “baseline” or a personalized sober standard. Once the baseline is established, the app allows the user to perform a number of “tests” following the consumption of alcohol, prescription medications, marijuana, or any other substance that may affect driving ability. The test takes about two minutes and consists of keeping the phone steady while standing on one foot, tapping on specified colored spots that appear on the screen, and estimating a 20 second count. Once taken, the results are matched up against the user’s personal “baseline” to determine if the user should drive.
According to NORML’s (The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) Deputy Director, Paul Armentano, “Use of this performance-based technology better promotes responsible cannabis use and addresses public demands for alternative ways to discourage driving under the influence.”
Of course CheckPlusBalance should not be exclusively relied upon to determine if someone should or should not drive after ingesting an intoxicant. Nor do I suggest driving after ingesting an intoxicant, even if the app says that you’re good to go. But when it comes to preventative measures, one more tool in the box can’t hurt and I’ll err on the side of caution.
The app is free and I’ve already downloaded it.
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