Breathalizer app calls Uber if you’re drunk

Charles Michael Yim, CEO of Breathometer, demonstrates how to use the new Breeze breath tester at the company’s Burlingame headquarters. Below: the device with the smartphone app. Charles Michael Yim, CEO of Breathometer, demonstrates how to use the new Breeze breath tester at the company’s Burlingame headquarters. Below: the device with the smartphone app. Photo: Paul Chinn / The Chronicle Photo: Paul Chinn / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Breathalizer app calls Uber if you’re drunk 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

By the time drivers usually find themselves using a breathalyzer, it’s too late — they’ve already gotten behind the wheel.

A new device called the Breeze, from Burlingame startup Breathometer, will let drivers with smartphones learn how intoxicated they are before being pulled over by police — and before they put themselves or others in danger.

Plus, it can summon a ride from Uber if users blow over the legal limit.

“This is really about consumer awareness and being able to make the right decision and learn more about yourself,” said Brian Sturdivant, vice president of marketing.

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Fans of the ABC-TV reality show “Shark Tank” might recall Breathometer founder and CEO Charles Michael Yim last year nailing $1 million in funding for his original $50 Breathometer, which plugs into a smartphone’s headphone jack. The company has now raised a total of $5 million in funding, including a round led by billionaire and “Shark Tank” star Mark Cuban.

This week, Breathometer began shipping its second product, the $100 Breeze, which is available on its website and will be in Best Buy stores by Nov. 1.

The Breeze is a 2.25-inch-long, 1.88-inch-wide wireless device that weighs less than an ounce. It easily fits in a pocket or purse, but also comes with separate belt and key chain clips. It pairs by Bluetooth LE to a smartphone app and is available for both for iOS and Android devices.

The iOS version also syncs with Apple’s new HealthKit platform, so customers’ blood-alcohol level, or BAC, is cataloged with vital signs compiled by other health and fitness apps with each use.

To measure BAC, users blow into the Breeze at least 20 minutes after their last drink to allow time for the alcohol to get into the bloodstream. Users can set the Breeze to remind them when the 20 minutes are up before testing.

The app counts down the five seconds users need to blow into the Breeze. An electrochemical fuel cell sensor calculates the BAC and transmits it to the phone, which displays the reading instantly, along with how much time it will take for their body to process all the alcohol.

I tried it after downing a glass of red wine, although I only triggered a blood-alcohol reading of .018 percent. In California, drivers are defined as drunk with a BAC of .08 percent, but considered “likely” to be impaired with a reading between .05 percent and .07 percent.

But if I was under 21 years old, my reading would qualify me for a drunken driving charge, even if it was only due to cough medicine.

Breeze also told me it would take 1 hour and 9 minutes to get back to a zero BAC reading, which could be a surprisingly short time for diners who normally get up from the table and go right to their cars.

What separates Breeze from other similar smart phone breathalyzers, like the $130 BACtrack Mobile from a more established San Francisco rival, is the option to summon an Uber ride if you blow a .08 or higher.

That reading triggers a “get home safe” screen with a button that launches the smartphone ride service’s app. (Breathometer is working on integrating the Uber app directly into its interface before the holidays, Sturdivant said.)

There’s another option to look up Yelp listings of cab companies. And it accesses users’ phone’s contact list so they can call a friend for a ride.

Breeze also gives users the option to search for hotels where they can sleep it off, or find restaurants to sober up with coffee and food.

To demonstrate the Breeze, Sturdivant swished a vodka-lemonade cocktail in his mouth without swallowing. That put alcohol on his breath, and he immediately blew a BAC reading of .094. At that level, the Breeze app said it would take nearly six hours for him to get back to zero. The Breeze’s suggested 20-minute waiting period would help limit deceptive readings like that.

Many adults have figured out through trial and error what their “limit” is for consuming alcohol, but owning a Breathalyzer helps quantify that limit.

“If you’re an athletic individual and you’re training for an event and you’ve been drinking three times a week, that may be having an impact on performance,” Sturdivant said. “It allows the individual to learn more about themselves.”

And there are those times when couples get together socially and one bottle of wine leads to another until suddenly, “It’s 10:30, do you really know how many glasses of wine you’ve had or where you are?” he said. “This allows you and others to quickly check and (decide) should I Uber home, should I take a cab or am I good to go.”

BACtrack CEO Keith Nothacker said drinking without having a way to measure your own BAC level is like driving in a car without a speedometer.

His company’s research showed that even customers who use a Breathalyzer over time tended to greatly underestimate their level of intoxication when their BAC levels were .14 percent or greater.

Nothacker started his company in 2001 and has an established line of professional and consumer grade breathalyzers. The consumer models are available in retail outlets that include Best Buy, Walgreens, Costco and AutoZone.

While not as sleek as the Breeze, the 4.8-ounce BACtrack Mobile is still compact enough for a pocket or purse, at 2.3 inches long and 4.8 inches wide. And during a quick test, the app provided similar information — including how long it would take to completely sober up and a warning at .05 that it would still be unsafe and possibly illegal for me to drive.

It was slightly slower than the Breeze and the app required a short “warm up” period, but filled the time by asking me to guess my BAC level.

But it didn’t provide an option to call for a ride or find a nearby hotel. Nothacker said this was a conscious decision by his company because a message of “if you’re drunk, just use this” would give users a dangerously false sense of security.

He also said it’s not that hard to summon Uber — even when drunk.

“Everybody has Uber on their phone and if I want to call Uber, I have that app,” he said. “It’s a great marketing spin. But we want people to make smart decisions ahead of time. Intoxication begins with the very first drink.”

Benny Evangelista is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: bevangelista@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ChronicleBenny