The shocking virtual reality video that claims to simulate the horrors of a drink driving car crash
The video was produced by drinks giant Diageo to highlight drink driving
It follows three cars driving at night with one of the drivers intoxicated
Viewers can experience the crash in 360 degree video using a VR headset
The drinks makers says it hopes the video will be ‘truly jarring’ for people
Source: Daily Mail
By Ryan O’Hare for MailOnline
22 November 2016
A new virtual reality video aims to give viewers a first person perspective of the horrors of drink driving.
Diageo, which owns alcohol brands including Smirnoff and Guinness, has produced a 360° video which shows a three-car pile-up caused by a drunk driver.
But despite the graphic depiction of a car accident, the VR video has been criticised for not going far enough in depicting the horrors of a drink driving car crash.
Diageo says the video is intended to highlight the dangers of drink driving and create safer roads.
Its four-minute video tells the story of three cars on the road at night – a couple driving home, a group of friends on their way to a party and a lone woman.
The video culminates in a crash, after which the intoxicated woman is the only one to walk out of the wreckage.
Titled ‘Decisions’, the four-minute video tells the story of three cars on the road at night – a couple driving home, a group of friends on their way to a party and a lone woman.
As the story unfolds, the solo female driver is invited to drinks with work colleagues, before getting behind the wheel, visibly drunk.
The video culminates in a crash, after which the intoxicated woman is the only one to walk out of the wreckage.
The drinks maker released the video on a range of platforms, including YouTube, Facebook and through the New York Times.
Viewers can either use a headset, such as Google Cardboard or Oculus Rift, or by moving around their handset.
More than 10,000 people have already watched the video on YouTube, with Diageo saying it hopes watching and sharing will help to ‘create safer roads’.
In the UK alone, an average of 3,000 people are killed or seriously injured from drink driving accidents, with an estimated one in six road deaths involving someone over the legal limit.
While in the US, the proportion of alcohol-related crashes is higher, accounting for almost one-third of road deaths and more than one million drivers arrested in 2014.
‘With Thanksgiving and the holiday season right around the corner, the dangers of drunk driving should be on all of our minds as we celebrate with friends and family,’ said Diageo’s chief marketing and innovation officer for North America, James Thompson.
‘Although drunk driving fatalities are at an all-time low, every single drinking and driving death can and should be avoided.’
He adds: ‘With VR technology on the rise both in consumer interest and utilisation, we believe this is the ideal method to directly and emotionally impact consumers.
As part of its campaign, Diageo will be showcasing the VR video with a vibrating D-Box chair, so viewers can feel the jolts of the crash to make the experience more realistic.
‘Our hope is that this will be truly jarring for people and will help inform responsible decision-making,’ said Mr Thompson.
Despite the push for awareness, it is unclear what impact, if any, the video will have.
MailOnline contacted Diageo for comment.
While the numbers of deaths from drink driving have declined since the 1970s, an estimated 85,000 people in the UK are convicted of drink driving each year in England and Wales alone.
Anti drink-driving campaigns in the UK have proved successful, helping to reduce numbers of road deaths.
But campaigners have previously warned of a decreasing impact on younger drivers, who may be more immune to the shock value of graphic images.
Road safety charities have welcomed the campaign but warn that a zero tolerance approach is needed to reduce road deaths.
A spokesperson for UK-based road safety charity Brake, told MailOnline: ‘Brake welcomes this new initiative from Diageo, which helps to raise awareness of the devastating consequences of drink driving.
‘In the UK, nearly one in six fatal crashes involve a driver who is over the drink drive limit, and campaigns such as this are essential in spreading the message that drink driving is completely unacceptable.
‘Even drinking a small amount of alcohol can have significant, adverse effects on reactions and judgement, which is why we call for a zero tolerance drink drive limit.
‘We need to see campaigns like this backed by action from the government, with the introduction of a zero-tolerance limit of 20 mg per 100 ml of blood.’
John Scruby, trustee of charity Campaign Against Drink Driving, told MailOnline: ‘Any campaign on drink driving should not focus on the drink drive limit, or make any mention of alcohol units.
‘Nor should a comparison be made between the drink drive limit and a number of drinks. Very few people know what the drink drive limit actually is.
‘What they definitely do not know is when they have reached it. It is impossible to do so.
‘Campaigns should focus on the safe limit, which is of course zero if you’re driving.’