West Junior High School students on Friday experienced what it’s like to be drunk, under the watchful eye of Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson.

Using a special pair of “Fatal Vision” goggles, which simulate the effects of alcohol on motor skills, some students learned what it feels like to be impaired with a 0.17 blood-alcohol content, more than eight times the legal driving limit for teens their age.

Once students put the goggles on, Catherine Born, Branson’s office investigator, asked students to walk a line, mimicking a sobriety test often given to drivers suspected of being under the influence.

“I thought it was amazing that you can invent something like that, that’ll make you fell like you’re impaired,” said Steve Allen, 14, a West student who recently obtained his learner’s permit.

In Kansas, 14-year-olds can obtain a learner’s permit, which gives them limited driving privileges. Branson warned students if they’re caught with alcohol before then, they’d have to wait a year before obtaining that “ticket to freedom.”

With the alcohol training program he hopes to take to all junior high schools in the county, Branson wants to reach primarily 13- and 14-year-olds to inform them of the risks of drinking and driving.

“We see a lot of kids who are introduced to the alcohol issues after they’ve started driving,” Branson said.

“I learned a lot,” said Ruben Ghijsan, 13. “The consequences are really severe.”

In 2006, at least 614 traffic accidents in Kansas, in which 15 people died, were caused by an alcohol-impaired driver under the age of 21, according to the Kansas Department of Transportation.