Review: BAQ Tracker Mobile for BlackBerry

13, 846. That's the estimated number of fatalities that involved impaired driving in 2008 in the United States. That's roughly 38 deaths daily. For lack of a better term, it's a sobering thought. It's a simple decision that could change the lives of many forever, including your own. Now I'm not one to tell you what to do; I leave that up to you and your own judgment. All I'm going to say is if you are planning to drive and you are even slightly questioning yourself, then you should find another way home. Sometimes, that inner, sober voice inside you may have a hard time being heard. The loud music and flashing lights could distract you from the decision at hand.

Think of BAQ Tracker mobile application as a megaphone for that inner voice. It's a discreet and simple way to monitor your alcohol consumption or a loved ones consumption. With real-time representation of your calculated blood alcohol quotient, BAQ Tracker will take the guessing out of the question: "How much is too much?"

About BAQ Tracker

The BAQ Tracker mobile application was developed by LadyBug Teknologies Inc (yes, this is the correct spelling). The company develops products that focus on social drinking and promote responsibility. Not only to prevent drinking and driving, but for overall health. There's actually a few situations you could use BAQ Tracker; moderate family members and friends or maintain control (but still have fun) at your office party, to name a few. The current version of BAQ Tracker is 1.0.11, with a file size of 393.6KB. Here's how it works:

The first thing you want to do is create a profile using factors that include: age, height, weight and gender. These factors are taken into consideration when calculating your Breath Alcohol Content and aid in obtaining incredibly accurate results. According to LadyBug Teknologies, BAQ Tracker "has been benchmarked against enforcement quality breathalyzers." For height and weight, BAQ Tracker supports metric and imperial units of measurement. Your profile can also be edited at anytime - as you get older or gain/lose weight.

Creating a profile

Tracking you and your friends

Tracking begins at the main menu. The icon at the top left corner of this screen links you a list of 9 generic drink types. Each drink type will display the average amount and ABV (Alcohol by Volume). The screen will capture the number of drinks you have had, your BAC and a real-time countdown to when your BAC will be at 0%. Overtime, if haven't had anything else to drink, your BAC will visibly decrease as well. If you have accidently added an extra drink, the application allows you to delete the last entry. This screen will also display random facts regarding issues such as: BAC or meaning of terms (impairment versus intoxication). All of these facts can also be accessed from the BAQ Trackers included library. As I mentioned before, you can track other people besides yourself. While this is a great idea, the available options are limited. Tracking only works if you and the other person (or persons) are drinking the same drinks at the same time.

List of drink types

Other apps, like BAC Finder allow you to select only your weight, gender and time you have spent drinking. You then select how many drinks you have had (drinks are also categorized). You BAC is then calculated. I found that BAQ Tracker offers greater control, as you can easily record while you are drinking, rather than after you have figured out the time spent and number of drinks after the fact. You are then in a better place from which you can decide - when have you had enough?

Conclusion

The idea is to moderate, not eliminate, your consumption. BAQ Tracker is an excellent way to ensure you are well informed, in order for you to decide when to call it quits. The application allows you to quickly and quietly input what you've had and presents its calculations clearly. To others, it will only seem as though you are checking for messages, but to you it helps you judge your BAC. I did find the application a little pricey, at $8.99, but it is more intuitive than similar applications out there. You can pick up BAQ Tracker from BlackBerry App World.