I don't know if this is such a good idea. To have yourself pee into a urinal that lectures you on the danger of drunk driving?
[FONT size=6]Urinals lecturing on drunk driving[/FONT]
[FONT size=1][FONT color=#999999]By TIM KORTE[/FONT]
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[DIV class=article_body] [DIV class=article_headline] RIO RANCHO, New Mexico (AP) - New Mexico is hoping to keep drunks off the road by lecturing them at the last place they usually stop before getting behind the wheel: the urinal.
The state recently paid US$21 each for about 500 talking urinal-deodorizer cakes and put them in men's rooms in bars and restaurants. When a man steps up, the motion-sensitive plastic device says, in a woman's voice that is flirty, then stern: "Hey, big guy. Having a few drinks? Think you had one too many? Then it's time to call a cab or call a sobre friend for a ride home."
The recorded message ends: "Remember, your future is in your hand."
The talking urinal is the latest effort to fight drunken driving in New Mexico, which has long had one of the highest rates of alcohol-related traffic deaths in the United States. (Men account for 78 per cent of all drunk-driving-related convictions in the state.)
"It startled me the first time I heard it, but it sure got my attention," said Ben Miller, a patron at the Turtle Mountain Brewing Co. bar and restaurant. "It's a fantastic idea."
Jim Swatek, who was drinking a beer nearby, said: "You think, 'Maybe I should call the wife to come get me."'
Turtle Mountain Brewing owner Niko Ortiz commended the New Mexico Transportation Department for "thinking way outside the box."
Department spokesman S.U. Mahesh said the bathroom is a perfect place to get the message across. In the restroom, "guys don't chitchat with other guys," he said. "It's all business. We've got their total attention for 10 to 15 seconds"
Similar urinal cakes have been used for anti-drug campaigns in Colorado, Pennsylvania and Australia, and for anti-drunk-driving efforts on New York's suburban Long Island, said Richard Deutsch of New York-based Healthquest Technologies Inc., which makes the devices.
But Deutsch said he believes New Mexico is the only state to buy the devices.
New Mexico had 143 alcohol-related deaths in 2005, the country's eighth-highest rate.
At the Turtle Mountain, the urinal cakes have proved so intriguing that three have been swiped already.
"I'm mystified why someone would stick their hand into one of our urinals," Ortiz said. "But I'm sure we'll see them on eBay. Hopefully, the seller will advertise it as, 'Stolen from Turtle Mountain."'
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