The Designate Launches Smartphone Application

The Designate, a fleet of professional drivers that provides transportation to get people and their cars home safely after a night of drinking, has launched a new smartphone application to help users manage their nightlife.

Currently available on iPhone and Android platforms, the app is a blood alcohol concentration estimator designed to help users gage their ability to drive based on several key factors, including sex, weight, number of drinks and type of beverage consumed. Once calculated, the application will indicate the likelihood the user is impaired and will offer direct contact to The Designate to arrange a safe ride home.

"We hope this new application will be one people utilize when then they are enjoying a night on the town," said Tom Proctor, owner of The Designate. "We believe it can be an enlightening tool. Most people are not aware of their own tolerance level while drinking. Since everyone usually has their phones with them, we think this tool can help people make that smart call to us to get a safe ride home."

Designed by M10 Mobile Media and Werner Marketing Group, both area companies, the app is free to download for iPhone and Android users under the name The Designate BAC.

The timing of the new app comes just in time for the holiday season, when drinking and driving tend to spike in Michigan and Michigan State Police are expected to increase arrests during a federally funded drunk driving enforcement effort scheduled the week of Halloween, Oct. 25-31.
Also beginning Oct. 31, the state will impose stiffer penalties for a new category of drunken driving known as Operating with a High Bodily Alcohol Content. The new High BAC category will cover drivers who are found with a BAC of 0.17 percent or higher.

Serving the metro Detroit area since 2006, The Designate is an on-call professional driving service that operates seven days a week from 5:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. The Designate provides on-demand, chauffeur and special event services to assist clients and their vehicles in getting home safely and responsibly. For more information, call (888) 929-8282 or log on to www.thedesignate.com.

The State Police say 351 people were killed in Michigan alcohol and drug related accidents in 2009, and another 6,248 were injured.

Those convicted of a first drunken driving offense could get as much as 93 days in jail, up to $500 in fines, 360 hours of community service, six points on their driver's license and up to 180 days with a suspended license.

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