Auto manufacturers like Ford have to oblige to literally thousands of safety laws aimed at minimizing driver, passenger, and pedestrian injuries. The safest feature of any vehicle is the driver, however, and one of the biggest dangers to anyone on the road is a drunk driver.
In the U.K. where the legal drinking age is just 18, over half of 17 to 24 year-olds admitted to driving drunk at some point in their life, and 66% didn’t know the legal blood alcohol limit. Ford’s Driving For Life Program has developed a “drunk suit” that shows what it’s like to drink and drive, in a safe, controlled environment. Sure it looks fun, but the point being made is very serious.
The low-tech dunk suit uses modified goggles, earphones, and limb weights to simulate the effects of being drunk. After testing the suit’s effect on coordination on a sprightly young lass named Poppy, Ford put the blonde British teen behind the wheel of a Fiesta for a drive around their obstacle course.
You can guess the results. Poppy could barely navigate the simplest of obstacles, and we’re sure the experience left a lasting impression on her. Ford’s Driving For Life program aims to put young people behind the wheel to show them that driving should be taken seriously, but they manage to do it in a fun and effective way. Don’t you want to try the drunk suit on and give the obstacle course a whirl? We bet it’s harder than it looks.