GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. — It isn't uncommon to have a drink at a sporting event or house party. But, alcohol consumption can also have unfortunate consequences.
One Colorado-based company is using innovate technology to try to stop a drunk person from getting behind the wheel or operating heavy machinery, and prevent an accident or tragedy. You're in good company with SobrSafe.
"We are the first company in North America to have this type of technology," SobrSafe chairman and CEO David Gandini said. "We're so disruptive, paving the way to create safety and prevention for alcohol for workplaces and the roadways."
SobrSafe has two devices on the market to detect alcohol in a person's system. One is a stationary device which matches your fingerprint and measures the amount of ethanol emitting from your skin.
"When you come to work... you put your fingers on the device. Then, as long as you're clean, you're alcohol free, you enter the workplace and go about your day," Gandini said.
It's intended for factory workers, fleet drivers and machine operators where sobriety means safety for all.
"The employees in these companies, they love it because they're around dangerous equipment and other technology," Gandini said. "And, they feel good knowing that you and I, for instance, are both clean."
The other device is a wristband with the same capabilities, constantly monitoring for those getting out of alcohol-use treatment.
"So, you get out of treatment, you wear the band," Gandini said. "And if you have a drink, it signals your health professional, and they can try to help you before you get into a crisis situation."
The band also alerts a caretaker if it's taken of to hopefully prevent repeat offenders.
"70% of substance use patients go back to treatment in the first year," Gandini said. "What if we could knock that down by a point or two or three or four? And we could save these individuals and these families that go through the heartache and the stress."
SobrSafe has a partnership with Mothers Against Drunk Driving to promote the product to parents with teens behind the wheel.
"What we want to do is, we want to be a game-changer in the preventative space, because nobody's in it today," Gandini said. "We really want to make a difference socially and culturally to help curb these issues that we have."
