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What's it like to drive with beer goggles?

Participants in the Safety Fair at Mercy College Wednesday got a taste of what it would be like to drive drunk.
Students got the chance to try on different pairs of beer goggles and try to perform simple skills.

TOLEDO, OH (Toledo News Now) - Participants in the Safety Fair at Mercy College Wednesday got a taste of what it would be like to drive drunk.

The fair, at the Student Lounge of the Mercy Health Care Center, offered information on a variety of issues, including personal safety, drunk driving, fire safety and Internet safety.

But the best part was the beer goggles - and no, the fair had no warnings about the dangers of dating while drunk.

Driving drunk is a different story. Participants got to try on different pairs of goggles that simulated different levels of intoxication. Then they were charged with the task of performing simple skills.

Our own reporter Nicole Collier participated and she said the tests were not easy. She said that with the goggles on, things were spinning, blurry, and difficult to make out.

New this year was the addition of the Ohio Department of Transportation's distracted driving simulator. The computer-based simulator offers participants an opportunity to see how their driving skills diminish when texting or talking on the phone while behind the wheel.

"We want them to understand what can happen if you are in a situation where you are not fully focused, where you're distracted. And what we want them to take away from it is to take a minute and not do it. Don't answer the phone. Wait. There's nothing more important than your life," said Sarah Velliquette with Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center.

Organizers also had pledge cards for students to make a promise that could help save their life, and the lives of others, by not texting and driving.

Take our pledge to Put down the Phone and Make It Home.

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