Last fall, the RCMP teamed up with a Saskatoon, Sask., Ford dealership to demonstrate the effects of impaired driving.
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Ford Motors, with the help of a German engineering company, developed a "drunk suit" that imitates the effects of alcohol on the body with goggles, weights, braces, a neck collar and noise-cancelling headphones. The suit was sent to different dealerships across North America for media events to help increase the awareness of alcohol's impairing effects.
"Ford is very committed to safety — you just want to be a part of an initiative like that," says Colin Anderson, from Merlin Ford Lincoln. "I've got kids and they're going to be driving soon and I want them and their friends to be aware of how important it is not to drink and drive."
A Ford representative reached out to the RCMP detachment in Saskatoon to see if they could send a member to the dealership to run field sobriety tests on participants wearing the suit. Cst. Elmer Russell, a member of the traffic services team, immediately saw the benefit in participating.
"People have to carry the social responsibility of managing their alcohol intake and making the right choices and decisions before they drive," says Russell. "This was fantastic public education as far as getting word out there for impaired driving."
Russell has worked in traffic services for the majority of his nearly 15-year career with the RCMP. He says the effects of the suit were a perfect replication of how alcohol impairs a person's faculties.
Many of the participants were shocked by how impaired they felt when they put all the components on. Anderson, who tried it himself, describes the experience as very disorienting and unpleasant.
But it certainly accomplished its intended goal. Some of the local stories were picked up nationally, which helped spread the word even further.
"When I go out in public in uniform now, people will say, 'I saw you on the news,' and they'll strike up a conversation about it — that's been fantastic," says Russell. "As far as education is involved, that impact is immeasurable."