Japan: Driving school gets drivers to drink alcohol to show its dangers

Participants "repeatedly accelerated and slowed down unnecessarily" during the second run.

According to a media report, a driving school in Japan carried out an initiative, which saw drivers get drunk before tackling a simple driving route in order to showcase how alcohol affected their driving abilities.

Chikushino Driving School, Japan offered "controlled drink-driving experiences" in order to combat "overconfident" motorists who feel alcohol doesn't affect their driving ability. As per the initiative, drivers tackle three sections of a road, first sober and again after drinking alcohol. The sections include a slalom, an S-bend and a series of tight corners. Once the participants completed the course sober, they pulled up to drink alcohol for an hour. Once the alcohol sets in, they were made to drive over the same route once again.

Reports stated that the participants "repeatedly accelerated and slowed down unnecessarily" during the second run. The students were reportedly shocked to see the results, as they had entered the S-bend at much higher speeds after drinking and had even swerved to the opposite lane without realising.

The report also cited data which suggested that the probability of a road accident which involves a death is seven times higher when the driver is drunk, compared to accidents when the driver is sober.

Source: TheGuardian