Boston Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer Blog
Drunk drivers put every single person in Boston in grave danger. Law enforcement does their best to stop drunk drivers before they cause an accident, but unfortunately police cannot be everywhere at all times and drunk people continue to drive and cause tragic traffic crashes with alarming regularity.
In an effort to fight the ongoing battle against drunk driving, many people are putting technology to use. One example is a new free app made available by a computer science professor and his students from the University of California Riverside.
Our Boston drunk driving accident attorneys urge every driver to consider learning more about this app or about other mobile applications that aim to fight drunk driving. If everyone does their part to help spot and stop drunk drivers, then hopefully there will be fewer injuries or fatal crashes and more people can avoid the heartbreak that comes along with a DUI death.
How The New App Works
The new app, which is free to download, works based on a simple premise. The app is available for iPhones and Android devices and it allows you to turn your telephone into a DUI camera that constantly monitors what is going on in front of you. The app can be mounted to your dashboard or on your windshield and will continuously record video, which stays stored on the phone for up to 30 minutes. (incidentally, people using these apps who have been involved in an accident, have found the footage extremely helpful).
If you see an erratic driver or someone who appears to be driving drunk, then you can pull over in a safe location and review the video data that was recorded on your app. You will be able to zoom in so that you can get identifying information such as a license plate of the vehicle that was driving erratically. You can then use this information to contact law enforcement and to alert them to the fact that there is a potential drunk driver.
Another of the features that comes along with the free app is the option to send a captured image or even the entire video to investigators. This can help law enforcement to know exactly what they are looking for and to determine if they want to pursue the driver on the basis of what the video reveals. By being able to better identify who a potential drunk driver is (without having to worry about writing down or memorizing the license plate or getting too close to a dangerous driver), more people can be watchful for drunk drivers and can take action.
The app has already been downloaded more than 1,000 times and its creator hopes that more people will embrace the new technology to help in the fight against drunk driving. Today, almost everyone has a cell phone and the vast majority of these cellular phones have a camera or a way to capture video. This new app simply allows you to harness the power of the phone to help catch drunk drivers before they are involved in a crash.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a drunk riving accident in the Greater Boston area, contact Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers, LLC for a free consultation. Call (617) 777-7777.