Volunteers get drunk to participate DUI training to help cops spot drunk drivers

Upper Darby, Pa. (WTXF) - They're the front line troops in the battle to keep drunk drivers off the road and they spent this day getting trained to spot those whose behavior endangers so many.

It was noon in the basement of a Drexel Hill firehouse and nearly a dozen "volunteers" are by their own admission getting plastered. Meredith was sucking down vodka and cranberry juice.

"I feel hammered to be completely honest. I feel out of control and I don't like to feel like this so it's very odd to me," she said.

They've been drinking for more than three hours under the watchful eyes of Upper Darby police. It was part of a so-called "wet lab" to help train local cops to spot DUI drivers.

"They need to understand the science behind what intoxicates human beings. They need to understand the physical manifestations of intoxication versus somebody that's sober," Upper Darby Police Captain Tom Johnson said.

30 local officers were training Wednesday.

Among the surprises here?That it doesn't take much for your hand-eye coordination to start slipping.