After Lindsay Lohan was fitted with one, some parents want to know whether or not they can get one for their teenager.  Unfortunately, the answer is no.  As beneficial as these ankle bracelets can be in preventing drunk driving, they aren’t made available to the public.

Drunk driving, especially among teenage drivers, is a growing concern in the United States, but technology can play a role in reducing these accidents.

Imagine if these ankle bracelets stopped drunk driving accidents.

Currently, the ankle bracelet like the one Lindsay Lohan was ordered to put on, is only sold to courts, probation officers and other authorities who want to make sure drunk drivers or other people who commit alcohol-related crimes to not drink again.  A spokesman said that despite the limited access to the ankle bracelets now, there’s no guarantee that restriction will last forever when it comes to allowing parents and all adults to help prevent drunk driving in the future.

“That might be a market down the road,” the spokeswoman for Alcohol Monitoring Systems Inc., told the New York Times.  For the time being, the Denver-based company is focusing on the corrections market.

The ankle bracelet itself checks the skin every half hour for blood alcohol content.  When alcohol is consumed, it eventually enters the bloodstream which is later perspired.  That’s how the check is made.  Once a day, information is sent to courts or the assigned probation officer, and if a BAC level of .02 or higher registers, appropriate measures are taken.  Over 136,000 people wear the bracelet for an average period of 90 days, and each ankle bracelet costs about $1,500.

When people who commit drunk driving or other alcohol offenses are given the choice, many pick the ankle bracelet over jail to get back to their lives.  Others, however, aren’t so receptive.  One person, who wore the device for a few days, complained of skin irritation, took the device off and reported to jail.

Drunk driving causes too many tragedies and our auto accident lawyers in San Diego believe that needs to change.  A time will come when drunk driving accidents never happen.  Until that day comes, we can only plead with you to be smart about the choices you make before you get behind the wheel of an automobile.

Call us now at 1-858-551-2090 for a FREE consultation with an experienced San Diego auto accident lawyer or click here to submit your case for a FREE online review.  We work with you on a contingency basis, which means you owe nothing until we recover money on your behalf.