Internationally, Uber has been acclaimed for reducing drunk driving deaths – after a long night out, people these days prefer being driven home via Uber instead of taking to the road themselves, and save themselves some nasty road crashes in the process.
Uber’s now trying to proactively bring down drunk driving level in India too. It’s partnered with the Mumbai police by installing “Uber Breathalysers” at bars and clubs across the city. The Breathalyser is a kiosk where people can measure their blood achohol content. A red light flashes if the person’s blood alcohols are too high to be able to drive, and a message on a screen enables you to book an Uber home.
“Through this campaign, we aim to build awareness against drunk-driving and give people a convenient and reliable ride back home. We hope to work with the Mumbai traffic police to install these devices across all bars and pubs in the city,” Shailesh Sawlani, GM, Uber Mumbai said in a statement. The first kiosk in Mumbai was installed and launched a few days ago in Nook, a nightclub in Phoenix Marketcity Kurla.
Uber, which has often been at odds with governments around the world, has committed to invest $ 1 billion to ramp up operations in India last year, and said it would “invest heavily” in safety measures for its riders.