Drunk-driving simulation

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/10/2014 (4101 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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I failed a sobriety test Tuesday morning.

I don’t mean just after midnight, either. When the officer asked me to take nine heel-to-toe steps, count them out and walk a straight line with my hands at my sides while staring at my shoes, I was starting to think about what to get for lunch.

How hard could this be? After all, I told the police officer I hadn’t been drinking. But even before I started — I was asked to put one foot in front of the other while the test was explained to me for about 30 seconds — my legs were starting to shake while I struggled to maintain my balance. Then each step was an adventure. Sometimes I would swing my back leg in front as if it was made of wood. I wobbled a lot and had to use my arms for balance as if I was on a tight rope 10 metres above the ground.

I took my nine steps, turned around and took nine more. I could tell from looking at the officer’s face that he wasn’t impressed.

“Do you think I’m loaded?” I asked him.

“It’s leaning towards that,” said Const. Stephane Fontaine, impaired driving countermeasures co-ordinator for the Winnipeg Police Service.

OK, so I was effectively drunk. But it wasn’t due to the amount of alcohol I’d consumed. I was wearing a drunk-driving suit, a series of weights and restrictive bindings that mimic your physical abilities after you’ve imbibed a little (or a lot) too much.

It also includes a pair of headphones, so it’s harder to hear, and a pair of glasses that make you see double or triple. (I don’t remember for sure. I closed one of my eyes the whole time so I could see, which I’m sure didn’t raise any suspicions with Fontaine.)

The suit was designed in conjunction with Ford of Canada and will be taken to various communities and schools around the province to show drivers the impact of liquor on their abilities.

“People should learn to split the two concepts apart,” Fontaine said. “If you want to drink, go ahead and have your fun but keep the driving aspect completely separate. Make that decision while you’re sober as opposed to at the end of the night when your decision-making abilities are clearly impaired.”

It’s also important to get the message out — again — in advance of the coming holiday party season.

“Don’t kid yourself, this is a problem that goes on all year long. Christmas parties or not, people are unfortunately making the wrong decision and deciding to drink and drive,” he said.

Ryan Monczunski, general sales manager at River City Ford, said the idea behind the suit is to focus on the proactive side of being safe.

“(Manufacturers) are building safer and safer vehicles every year but how do we get people to not get behind the wheel when they’re intoxicated and not need that super-safe vehicle?” he said.

Young drivers are the primary target market and it’s hoped they’ll have a few laughs when putting on the suit.

“It will be fun and engaging instead of the same old message of ‘Don’t drink and drive.’ This is showing how silly you look when you put on the suit, but you look just as silly when you get behind the wheel of a vehicle. Make the right decision and don’t drink and drive,” he said.

geoff.kirbyson@freepress.mb.ca