Uber and the City of Seattle launched a one-night impaired-driving prevention pilot at Kells Irish Pub on March 17, 2016. Visitors could try an educational breathalyzer kiosk and receive a free ride-home offer worth up to $15. The kiosk was not a legal test or a guarantee that someone was safe to drive, and the promotion was specific to that 2016 event.
What was Uber’s Seattle breathalyzer kiosk?
It was a promotional kiosk intended to help bar patrons learn about blood-alcohol limits and consider a ride home rather than driving after drinking. Uber announced its partnership with the City of Seattle on March 16, 2016; the public event took place the following evening at Kells Irish Pub in Post Alley. Seattle described it as the kiosk’s first public availability in the city. Uber’s March 16 announcement and Seattle’s event information describe the pilot.
Where and when did it operate, and what was the ride offer?
The kiosk was available at Kells Irish Pub on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 2016, from 8 p.m. to midnight. Seattle said participants who tried it could receive a free ride home worth up to $15. The offer belonged to that event; it is not evidence of a current Uber credit or ongoing kiosk program. The event also featured special uberHOP routes and promotional codes distributed through coasters at bars and clubs, which were likewise time-limited 2016 promotions. Seattle’s event fact sheet gives the event details.
Could the kiosk tell someone they were safe or legally allowed to drive?
No. A promotional reading was not permission to drive, a legal determination, or a defense if someone drove while impaired. In contemporaneous reporting, Seattle Deputy City Attorney John Schochet said: “It is illegal to drive impaired, and being below the per se limit of .08% BAC doesn’t automatically make driving legal. If someone is arrested for DUI, we’ll explore all available evidence regarding the driver’s impairment, although for purposes of proving a per se DUI we use either certified breathalyzer machines or blood tests. Use of the promotional machine is not a defense to a DUI if someone is impaired by alcohol and drives, but we obviously support efforts to offer and encourage alternatives to driving after people have been drinking.” GeekWire’s 2016 report published the statement. It describes the city attorney’s position at that time, not current legal advice.
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What is known about the device and its data?
The cited accounts do not identify the kiosk’s manufacturer or model, describe its calibration or certification, or establish how readings were stored or retained. GeekWire reported that officials at the launch event could not answer whether information recorded by the machine could be shared with law enforcement. Those sources therefore do not establish either that the kiosk’s readings were suitable for a legal decision or what happened to any recorded data. GeekWire’s contemporaneous coverage discusses the unanswered data-sharing question.
Why did Seattle and Uber run the pilot?
The partnership was presented as support for Seattle’s Vision Zero initiative and an effort to prevent impaired driving by encouraging people to leave their keys behind. At the time, the Seattle Department of Transportation reported more than 35,000 crashes in the city over the preceding three years and said about 30% of fatal crashes each year resulted from impaired driving. These are figures reported in 2016, not current Seattle statistics. Seattle SDOT’s 2016 materials provide that context.
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Uber also summarized an Uber–MADD study, identified as a 2014 study, as finding a 10% decrease in Seattle DUI arrests in the year after UberX began operating there in 2013. That is the study’s result as described by Uber in 2016; the announcement does not provide the methodology, and the figure does not establish that Uber alone caused the decrease. Uber’s 2016 summary reports the statistic.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Was this a lasting Seattle program?
The available accounts describe a pilot and a specific St. Patrick’s Day event in 2016, not an ongoing service. They do not establish that the kiosk or the ride-home offer remains available. Uber Washington General Manager Brooke Steger said the company was committed to reliable transportation and proud to work with the city to help prevent traffic casualties on St. Patrick’s Day and other occasions; that statement expressed the partnership’s intent, not a promise that the event promotion would continue.
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