It isn’t all about fun and games when it comes to virtual reality (VR), as companies are utilising the technology for much more than entertainment. Diageo is taking the responsibility on itself to create a VR tool to educate people in drink driving in a new way.

Diageo, a retailer of alcohol, is balancing its success on the hope of VR owners to reach 171 million by two years from now, and is therefore making a long term commitment to VR which will reach a wider audience with more impact than the standard drink driving warnings. The experience will target consumers of a legal drinking age to see the pitfalls associated with irresponsible drinking.

“Despite the fact that drunk driving fatalities are at an all-time low, this issue remains of critical importance to Diageo and the industry as a whole.  We believe that virtual reality technology provides a powerful new opportunity to emphasize the importance of celebrating responsibly,” said James Thompson, Chief Marketing and Innovation Officer, Diageo North America.

“Enabling people to experience what it’s like to be the passenger in a car being driven by a drunk driver may resonate more with participants than disturbing statistics and crash photos.  While we are still in the developmental phase of this project, we are eager to experiment with the technology to see how it can help advance our responsible drinking mission.”

The drink driving experience will launch as an example of how the company is seeking new partners and investing in new tech to lower the statistics of drunk driving, which at the moment stands at 20% of driving deaths.

It isn’t clear which head-mounted display it will be available on, but with its broad outlook it seems as though the company will be aiming at most VR platforms.

For more of the latest in VR, check back with VRFocus.

Previous articleVR Cinema to Feature at Edinburgh Digital Entertainment Festival
Next articleRecorder VR