Ford creates Drug Driving Suit

Ford has teamed up with scientists at the Meyer-Hentschel Institute in Germany to create a suit that mimics the effect of taking drugs or driving while drunk.

The suit that’s claimed to reduce mobility, vision and poor coordination using padding, ankle weights, goggles and headphones, all work to replicate the feeling of being on drugs or under the influence of alcohol.

According to a recent European-based study, driving while on drugs makes you 30 times more likely to be involved in a severe crash but, despite this, one in 10 people say they have taken lifts with people who have taken illegal drugs.

The new Drug Driving Suit has been incorporated into Ford Driving Skills for Life, the young driver programme that’s so far trained more than 500,000 people around the world through practical and online tuition.

The suit will be used by young people on the course to highlight the dangers of driving while high or drunk.

Gundolf Meyer-Hentschel, CEO of Meyer-Hentschel Institute explains how the suit works: “Drug users sometimes see flashing lights in their peripheral field, an effect recreated by our goggles, while imaginary sounds are generated by the headphones. Additionally, the goggles distort perception, and produce colourful visual sensations – a side effect of LSD use.”

Like Australia, driving while on drugs is a growing problem in Europe. Last year 8.8 million 15-24 year-olds used cannabis and 2.3 million people in that age group took cocaine. In 2015 alone 400 people were arrested every month on drug driving charges and are linked with more than 200 deaths a year in Europe.