(U-WIRE) IOWA CITY, Iowa – It’s show time. Blow steadily for six seconds – 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Remember, friends don’t let their friends drive drunk.

Stroll into some local drinking establishments, and you might hear this prompt emanating from a nearby coin-operated breath-testing device. The distributor and bar officials say the machine, dubbed “The Counselor Alcohol Breath Check,” can help curb drunk driving and serves as a form of entertainment.

“[The machine] is kind of an amusement game for everyone in the bar, or it could keep people from getting an OWI,” said the distributor, University of Iowa student Scott Steffes. “It’s focused on responsible drinking more than anything.”

In Iowa City, Iowa, Steffes has installed machines at the Union Bar, 808 Restaurant and Nightclub, and RT Grunts, and he has several in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He is working to expand to several other locations.

To operate the approximately 1-foot-square device, patrons insert four quarters and are then prompted by the machine to blow steadily for six seconds through a straw inserted into the “bullseye.” Next, users are asked – in a series of three tests – to push a randomly selected button to test reaction time.

The person’s blood alcohol content is then displayed with a corresponding level of caution based on the concentration and reflexes: Alert, moderate, or warning — do not drive.

Jeff Maynes, the Union’s general manager, said the machines are popular; groups often gather around to test themselves.

“I think their point is to see how drunk they are,” Maynes said. But he specified that the machine “makes some difference because I know not everybody walks.”

However, Stepping Up Project coordinator Jim Clayton said the device “establishes an arbitrary level of compliance” and that it probably isn’t of any value. He said legal drinkers could face an OWI conviction even if their blood alcohol content falls below the legal limit of .08.

A disclaimer on the machine notes: “In a non-supervised test, the manufacturer, the owner of this machine, and of these premises cannot warrant or ensure the accuracy of your reading.”

– J.K. Perry