We are getting to that time of year where it feels like every other day is a party. It's a wonderful time of year - most wonderful in fact - but it's a also a time of year where many will take the risk of driving whilst drunk. Now, I'll admit, I'm not the perfect driver is - no-one is in fact - but I would never dream of drink driving. Especially after trying the 'drunk googles' at Ford DSFL.
Speaking of Ford, the brand has come up with something called a 'hangover suit' and no, that is not the beer stained suit you wear to work the next day, this is something a bit different. Ford states that driving on the morning after can be just as dangerous as driving whilst fully drunk, which is where the hangover suit comes in.
It was commissioned by Ford by the renowned Meyer-Hentschel Institute and weighs no less than 17kg. The whole ensemble is made up of a special vest, wrist and ankle weights, cap, googles and headphones. The combination of these components give the user a sensation of fatigue, dizziness, a throbbing head thus making concentration all that bit harder.
“There is a lot of social pressure to prevent those who may be tempted to drink drive after a night out. But many times those who drive the morning after are travelling alone,” said Ford Driving Skills for Life Manager Jim Graham. “The ‘Hangover Suit’ shows how debilitating a hangover can be and the risk that driving in that condition can present to all road users.”
“We did a lot of research – including analysing our own abilities after an evening of social drinking,” said Gundolf Meyer-Hentschel, CEO of the Meyer-Hentschel Institute. “For the ‘Hangover Suit’ we have introduced the headphones that replicate the particular increased sensitivity to sound as well as the typical acoustic experiences of a migraine. In addition, a weighted headset, together with the goggles, simulates dizziness and a blinding headache.”