In Japan, a driving school is creating a sensation by offering driving lessons under the influence of alcohol in order to present young drivers with a fait accompli.
It is a driving school in Chikushino that has just launched this brand new experience, unique in its kind, namely encouraging its students to drink alcohol during their driving session to better realize its effects.
Did you see yourself (driving) when you were drinking?
According to an article in the Mainichi Shimbun, this initiative echoes a tragedy that took place some fifteen years ago but which had a profound effect on the city, an accident during which three children were killed by a motorist driving drunk. The goal is to confront these young drivers in a raw, but nevertheless secure way since the monitor can take control of the vehicle at any time, facing the dangers of drink-driving. To great ills, great remedies !
At first, the students negotiate different sections of road, before parking and then having one or more drinks. After having measured their alcohol level, they redo the same route and can then notice hesitations and approximations in their driving, altered by alcohol.
A rather unique awareness campaign
It should be noted that the local police support this action, specifying in a vast communication campaign that alcohol considerably slows down judgment and the ability to maneuver a vehicle. But the greatest danger is that, even when drunk, the driver continues to think that he is driving safely.
As a reminder, in France, driving schools are required to make their students aware of the risks of drink-driving. This awareness can take several forms, such as the distribution of brochures or the establishment of theoretical courses on the risks associated with drink-driving. Some also offer to simulate drunk driving, in particular using large dedicated glasses. But so far, no one has dared to ask a student to drink before settling next to his monitor.
