Wearable technology that simulates the effects of illegal drugs on the body has been developed to teach young people about the dangers of being high behind the wheel.
The suit - developed by Ford - includes goggles that blur the vision, headphones that play distracting noises, a vibrating wrist band, a neck brace, elbow and knee straps, and a weight around the left ankle.
It is thought illegal drugs may be a factor in as many as 200 road deaths every year in the UK, and driving under the influence makes drivers 30 times more likely to be involved in a crash.
As many as 6,000 young drivers will have the chance to drive a vehicle while wearing the suit as part of driving courses run by the car company.
They will learn how popular illegal drugs like cannabis and cocaine can slow reaction times and effect coordination and concentration.
Young driver Josh Fox, 23, from North London, agreed to test the suit out for Sky News on Ford's test track in Basildon, Essex.
"Everything was a distraction - all these different things on the different parts of my body were just distracting me from looking where I was going," said Josh, shortly after mowing down countless road cones.
"It was very, very odd.
"The goggles made things incredibly difficult.
"When you're driving you don’t realise how much you are relying on your sight.
"And everything takes that split-second longer - your reaction times are reduced.
"It's very disconcerting to know that when I needed to brake it would take a bit longer, when I needed to use the gas it would take a bit longer. It's very worrying.
"Now I know how little you can concentrate on driving when you have all these distractions that come from being under the influence of drugs."
Money and time mean this sort of training is unlikely to ever become compulsory, but Josh believes that all young people - even passengers - could benefit from the experience.
He said: "If people really knew what it felt like to try and drive under the influence, if they were to wear one of these suits and really experience that for themselves, they might think twice before doing it in the future.
"But it was an enjoyable experience and an education."
PC Rob Andrews, a roads policing officer at Essex Police, said the number of drug driving incidents is increasing, and welcomed the technology.
He said: "Anything that can help us to educate people is only a good thing.
"People aren't receptive to being told what to do, in particular young people don't like being told what to do, so if the approach is slightly different we can give them information and they can make a better and informed decision."
He added that in an "ideal world" it would be compulsory for young drivers to experience driving in the suit, but acknowledged the technology would have to become more readily available for this to happen.
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