Watch: Japanese driving school holds test featuring real drunk drivers
By Bryan Ke
August 31, 2023
A driving school in Japan held a special driving test with drunk participants last week to show the impact of alcohol on driving skills.
Key details: Chikushino Driving School held the special event at their branch in Chikushino, Fukuoka Prefecture, on Aug. 21.
The event was organized to teach local drivers about the dangers of driving under the influence (DUI) ahead of the death anniversary of three siblings killed by a drunk driver on Aug. 25, 2006, according to The Mainichi Shimbun.
During the second test, the participants had to drink a significant amount of alcohol. One of the participants drank one beer and five highball cocktails in just 90 minutes, according to the Fukuoka Broadcasting Corporation.
The participants then took a breathalyzer test, and the participant who drank the most had 0.8 milligrams of alcohol per liter of breath, significantly higher than the legal limit of 0.15 milligrams per liter in Japan. Another participant — who drank one beer, a glass of umeshu plum wine and a glass of shochu cut with water — received a result around twice the legal limit.
It did not go well: The participant who drank the most alcohol failed his driving test, crushing a traffic cone and plowing through a line of metal rods created to mimic a wall.
Why it matters: Officials believe that many drivers involved in alcohol-related road incidents are overconfident in their ability to navigate roads safely and avoid any accidents.
Last year, the Fukuoka Prefectural Police reportedly caught 1,391 inebriated motorists, 1,122 (80.7%) of whom were over the “heavily intoxicated” level, which is more than 25 milligrams of alcohol per liter of breath. So far this year, authorities caught 883 drunk drivers in the prefecture, and 76.1% of them were considered to be at the “heavily intoxicated” level.
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