New Years’ Eve is a big night for drinking. And, unfortunately, it’s also a particularly popular evening for drinking and driving. Often the weather’s bad, taxis are hard to find, and after a few drinks, lots of people make the dumb decision to get behind the wheel.

Of course the police know this, and strive to discourage this behavior by setting up lots of drinking and driving roadblocks. And in general, the police want people to know there will be roadblocks out there, but they certainly don’t want drivers to know exactly where and when they are. And that’s why there’s some fear among the police that an increasing number of people will use Twitter to alert others about drinking and driving roadblocks tonight.

And they’re right to be concerned about it. A quick search for “roadblock” on Twitter reveals that more than a few people are doing exactly what the police are afraid of. According to the same article, Twitter isn’t the only way that drinkers are spreading the word about check points either. Both Facebook and social media-based iPhone apps are also called out for their potential abuse in helping people avoid getting pulled over.

Of course, this isn’t the first time that technology has got in the way of a good police roadblock. The website “Road Block Registry” is a wiki, of sorts, for those who want to alert their fellow drivers to the location of regular roadblocks. Individuals can both consult a list of ones in their area, or add to the list themselves.

But before we go vilifying all technology for encouraging drunk drivers, there’s also a newly released iPhone app called Buzzed that helps you calculate whether or not you’re over the legal limit. You enter your height, weight, age and how many drinks you’ve consumed in what amount of time. The app then calculates your approximate blood alcohol level, and even helps you call a taxi. It sounds handy, but I won’t be impressed until there’s an app that can actually determine your BAC when you blow into the iPhone’s microphone. Now that would be fun at parties.

Don’t drink and drive, and happy New Year!

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Related posts:

1. Ford’s Sync to have GPS, Pandora radio, and Twitter!
2. Top Twitter Trends of 2009
3. Vancouver To Use 3D Technology to Fool Drivers

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