Lawyer-directory firm Avvo has an iPhone app by the name of “Last Call” that
allows you to calculate your blood-alcohol level to determine if it’s safe for you to drive after drinking. If not, use Last Call to call a cab. Last Call also provides a list of top local DUI lawyers on Avvo to call for help if you need it.
(h/t Denise Howell). More from Scott Greenfield:
I wonder whether some developer at Avvo field tested the concept at the local bar and grill, numerous times, before declaring it a winner? There are many areas where this app could fail, from inputting error (hey, you’re drunk, right?) to claims of encouraging drunk driving by the false sense of security of knowing that a list of DUI attorneys are only a click away. This is a far cry from “just say no.”
On the other hand, when the cop grabs your iPhone at the time of arrest and sees that you’ve used the application, input information that showed you to be intoxicated and drove anyway, even the best DUI attorney will have his hands full explaining that away. …
If you read the marketing language with care, however, you find this: “Last Call is provided for entertainment purposes only.”
It’s always amusing as well to contrast the marketing with the legal disclaimers, as it would be wrong to expect the app to serve the purpose for which it’s sold. No detrimental reliance here.
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“It’s always amusing as well to contrast the marketing with the legal disclaimers, as it would be wrong to expect the app to serve the purpose for which it’s sold. No detrimental reliance here.”
Why? The brethalyzer manufacturers don’t guarentee that their machines accurately measure blood alcohol.
Why would Avvo have an “app” like that? It’s a lawyer directory! Is drinking and driving among lawyers the problem none dare talk about? Or is it merely a problem among attorneys whose Avvo “rankings” are unsatisfactory?
I wouldn’t know about that, of course.