Wednesday, August 20, 2003

By L.A. Johnson, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

Phil LaBoon is trying to save lives.

His company, Eyeflow Inc., distributes Legal Limit Breathalyzer Key Chains at local stores, gas stations and nightclubs.

	Phil LaBoon of Baldwin is selling Legal Limit Breathalyzer Key Chains that permit individuals to give themselves sobriety tests. (Bill Wade, Post-Gazette photos) For more information about Legal Limit Breathalyzer Key Chains visit www.saveabuddy.com or call 412-980-9385. Click photo for larger image.

"It's a weapon you can carry on your key chain to fight the war against drunk driving," says LaBoon, a fresh-faced, rosy-cheeked, barely-legal young man who sports a moussed, spiky buzz cut. "I'm 21 years old, and I don't have a friend who doesn't have a DUI."

The bright yellow and black plastic Legal Limit key chain contains a single-use BreathScan alcohol detector -- a clear plastic tube containing a glass vial filled with yellow crystals.

To test sobriety, users squeeze the plastic tube to break the glass vial inside, blow into the cylinder for 12 seconds, then wait two minutes. If the amber crystals turn aqua, the user's blood alcohol level is 0.08 or higher. Pennsylvania's legal limit for motorists is still 0.1. However, the state Legislature is considering reducing it to 0.08.

In 2002, 17,970 people died in alcohol-related crashes, representing about 42 percent of 42,850 total traffic fatalities, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

LaBoon -- who has a multimedia technologies associate's degree from the Pittsburgh Technical Institute and is 30 credits shy of a bachelor's degree in business and marketing from Indiana University of Pennsylvania -- has invested his life savings in the business. He has given away 1,500 key chains in the past month.

"I live at home with my parents, and all my money goes into this," says LaBoon of Baldwin, whose day job is as a Web master for Recreation Equipment Unlimited. "I could be driving a nice car, but I'm doing it to sincerely help people.

"If I break even, I would be happy, but I would like to get a little money so I could order more."

	Legal Limit users squeeze the plastic tube to break the glass vial inside, blow into the cylinder for 12 seconds, then wait two minutes. If the amber crystals turn aqua, the user's blood-alcohol level is 0.08 or higher. Click photo for larger image.

LaBoon and a few of his sales representatives started selling the key chains this past weekend at Bash, a nightclub in the Strip District. The key chains, with the BreathScan tubes, sell for $5, the refill tubes for $3. And they're waterproof and nonperishable.

"We sold a little over 100, and that was just Friday," he says.

LaBoon is slated to sell them again this weekend at Bash.

"It's a good product and when people have a few drinks, they don't always realize how much they've had," says Bash owner David Santa. "We want people to have a good time without getting hurt or hurting somebody else."

Legal Limit Breathalyzer Key Chains also are sold at Save On Beer on McKnight Road, Ross; Schoeb's Sunoco in South Park; and Duffy's Pop & Beer Warehouse on Curry Hollow Road, Pleasant Hills.

In the week George Duffy has had the Legal Limit display in his store, he's sold a few, mostly to people in their 20s.

"It definitely should be available," he said. "It's really neat how it works. I'm shocked at how it works."

Duffy says he was equally shocked by LaBoon's youth but admires what he's trying to do.

"I give the kid credit," he said.

LaBoon decided he wanted to try to save lives after two of his friends died in separate drunk-driving accidents when others couldn't persuade them not to drive.

	Lisa Kuznicki hawks Phil Laboon's "Legal Limit Breathalyzer Key Chains" at Bash nightclub in the Strip District. Click photo for larger image.

Legal Limit isn't a self test, but more a way for friends to prevent friends from driving drunk.

"Instead of opinion vs. opinion, you've got a physical tool to show them, 'Hey, buddy, you're too drunk to drive. Let's just call a cab,' " says LaBoon.

Larry Martin, co-owner of Legal Limit Breathalyzer Key Chains, agrees.

"It's a tool to say, 'Stop. You're going to make a deadly decision' and 'Look, I'm proving to you that you're intoxicated,' " says Martin, 40, of St. Petersburg, Fla., who began marketing the key chains nationwide about 18 months ago. "It's the interaction that needs to take place before the person gets into their car. Once they're in the car, it's too late."

LaBoon, who contacted Legal Limit only a little over a month ago, has the right idea -- getting out among his peers and showing them a tool that can help save a friend's life, Martin says.

"Phil is a great guy and he really understands the necessity for this item," Martin says. "He really cares, and his heart is in the right place."

LaBoon and Martin both hope that community groups, local government and law enforcement will jump onto the Legal Limit bandwagon. In Jersey City, N.J., Mayor Glenn D. Cunningham had police distribute Legal Limit Breathalyzer Key Chains at alcohol checkpoints around town in December 2001.

"My main goal isn't to get your money," he says. "It's to get people off the street."

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