Drinking and driving is something you will never find anyone supporting. It results in tens of thousands of deaths as a result of alcohol-related accidents. Furthermore, driving under influence is a felony. However, people seem to be getting more aware and the number of drunk driving fatalities have decreased by 51% since 1982.
However, driving the next day is an entirely different thing. You are not drunk anymore, but you’ve got a killer hangover and your head is exploding. People don’t consider that as drunk driving because you are technically not drunk. That may be true but that does not mean driving in such a state is safe and the automaker Ford agrees.
The company devised a suit that imitates the effects of a killer hangover. Heavy cuffs are attached which weigh down the arms and legs and weights are strapped to the chest to slow movements. A big pair of headphones blasts a pounding noise to simulate a headache. Goggles that simulate light sensitivity through a small lamp attached to the side worn by the user also blurs the vision.
The drunk driving suit was tried by a Quartz reporter and he drove across a simple cone path in a big empty parking lot and in this sluggish and confused state knocked down a row of cones and the whole experience was a very unpleasant one.
Driving with a hangover is not much known about and there are no studies on it. However, it is never a good idea to gamble with your safety and the safety of others. That was the main motivation behind Ford designing the suit to raise awareness that it is better to be safe than sorry.
We get the stats from the casualties from drunk driving but we don’t get the number of accidents that arise as a result of driving with a hangover. It is strongly suggested that you pass on driving when you feel you are in a state when you can be a risk to your personal safety and the safety of others.
You can watch the video below to see what it feels like:
