As part of the Driving Skills for Life initiative, Ford developed a "Drugged Driving Suit" that shows how the human body acts behind the wheel after the consumption of drugs.
The easiest way to help people understand the consequences of their actions is to put them in situations where they face the respective consequences. Everybody agrees that getting behind the wheel while intoxicated is quite a dangerous way to create awareness about the perils of driving while high.
That is why Ford found an alternative way to send its message across, in a controlled and safe environment. The automotive company created the Drugged Driving Suit in order to show young people how driving skill changes after taking cocaine, heroin, LSD, Ecstasy or marijuana.
The headphones, for example, play random sounds with a distracting potential, while the special goggles contribute to tunnel vision syndrome and sometimes flash colorful lights. The suit also hinders the driver's reaction speed with the use of weights and bandages. A tremor inducing device fits on the right hand of the driver, simulating the jiggle effect some illegal substances generate.
In its presentation video, Ford showed that even experienced test pilots have a really hard time handling the myriad of issues that the suit simulates. For young drivers, the experience was even more daunting: tests as simple as catching a ball were problematic.
"Everything moves in slow motion," Nathalie Klein explained.
Some time ago, Ford created a suit similar to the one that simulates drugged driving. The previous version simulated the effects of alcohol consumption before driving.
Ford pointed out that its initiative follows the growing number of young people who admittedly drove a vehicle while on drugs. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) communicated that, although drunk-driving rates declined, the number of people that get behind the wheel after smoking pot surged.
Ford Driving Skills for Life started in 2003 under supervision from Ford Motor Company Fund, the Governors Highway Safety Association, and a panel of safety experts. Its aim is to educate licensed teens and parents to problems that are not necessarily approached during standard driving school.
It is estimated that until 2015 ends, 30 countries will have access to the program. Ford Driving Skills for Life operates in all 50 states in the United States, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. The administrators of the program want to reach as much as 150,000 drivers worldwide by the end of this year.
