Cell phone sobriety test

08:22 AM CDT on Tuesday, August 16, 2005

By Mike Goldfein / KHOU

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You obviously talk on the cell phone. But what about breathing into it?

KHOU-TV

The Breathalyzer phone, which only requires a small sensor chip, immediately lets the user know if it is safe to drive.

Manufacturers in Korea have built a cell phone with a built-in Breathalyzer.

Koreans love their cell phones. They use them like digital wallets to buy things. They spend endless hours sending text messages and taking photos.

Many Korean phones have built-in GPS mapping programs. And you can even find Koreans in bars watching music videos on their cell phones.

Sung Mee Cho with Seju Engineering Inc. said, "like lots of Koreans, they like to drink." Which might explain why inventors have come up with a cell phone with a built-in Breathalyzer.

Sung Mee Cho pointed out a small spot on the phone where you blow into.

The Breathalyzer phone, which only requires a small sensor chip, immediately lets the user know if it is safe to drive.

If you've had too much to drink the phone issues a warning and shows a weaving car hitting traffic cones.

"So they test it and it says don't drive so they leave their car or call the taxi," Sung Mee Cho explained.

The company also sells plug-in Breathalyzer adapters for some phones. Neither model will tell exactly how much you may be over or under the legal limit.

Those plug-in units cost about $30 and the company thinks they might hit the US in a year or two.

No US carrier has any immediate plan to sell a cell phone with a built-in Breathalyzer. However, it usually takes about two to three years for advanced cellular technology to crack US markets.