How impaired are you when driving under the influence? Ford’s Driving Skills For Life Program tested that theory out on teens using a drunk driving simulator suit that they developed to mimic the feeling and effects of inebriation. With weight pads, sound and goggles, they simulated the effects of drunkenness and had teens try driving while impaired.

“To impair coordination and balance, teens have a set of weights strapped to their body in different locations. For instance, one might be on the left ankle while others weight their shoulders and wrists down.

For a slower physical reaction time, trainers attach restrictive braces to both elbows and knees. Lastly and, perhaps, most challenging, the young participants don muffling headphones and vision-distorting goggles.”

This is a simulation, but the problem is real. While alcohol-related driving deaths have trended down since the 1990s, alcohol is still a factor in nearly one-third (31%) of all traffic-related deaths in the United States.

Every day, almost 30 people in the United States die in drunk-driving crashes — that’s one person every 50 minutes. These deaths have fallen by a third in the last three decades; however, drunk-driving crashes claim more than 10,000 lives per year.  – NHTSA

Your BAC (Blood Alcohol Count) is a measure of the amount of alcohol in your bloodstream. You can learn about your BAC and how to get a rough calculation of your BAC, and what level of drinking will lead to impairment for your weight/sex. There are also a variety of BAC gauging apps that you can get for your phone. Learn more about the effects: The 6 stages of getting drunk.

It’s very important to know your state laws and BAC limits: Find your state’s drunk driving laws

Most states have administrative license suspension (ALS) on the first offense. ALS allows law enforcement to confiscate a driver’s license for a period of time if he fails a chemical test.

DUI and Insurance

If you have a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) license suspension or a DUI-related accident, it will be reflected in your state driving record and you should expect it to have an impact on your insurance. As a “high risk driver,” your insurance company could cancel your policy or decide to drop you when it is up for renewal. At the very least, expect limited options and a huge hike in the price you pay to secure coverage. In some states, an insurance company may deny coverage of personal injuries or property damage related to a DUI-related accident.

A DUI conviction may also have a big effect on Life Insurance rates. Some companies may decline coverage entirely for a number of years after a conviction.