Cell Phone-Linked Breathalyzer

After nearly 14,000 drunk driving incidents plagued the nation's authorities last year, KDDI has stepped up to the plate by releasing the Alc-Mobile, a cell phone with a breathalyzer attachment.

This is mainly marketed to bus and cab companies, who were concerned that their employees were inept to drive after their beer-and-beef-bowl lunch. The user blows into a tube, and the machine immediately measures blood alcohol content and sends the results to their company's computer through the cell phone. If the blower's unfit to drive, the boss' computer sets off a warning siren. "Beep beep! One of your employees is DRUNK!"

And no, he can't get someone else to take the Am I Drunk? test for him. The cell phone's camera simultaneously snaps a photo of the testee and the built-in GPS tells exactly where the person is located.

The handset/breathalyzer costs 89,000 yen and the software for the company is 58,000 yen. That's over $1,200.

On a related note, police are proposing harsher penalties for drunk drivers in 2007, with up to 5 years in prison and 1 million yen in fines for the trashed. 

Product Page (Japanese)