If you saw people stumbling around with Star Trek-looking visors strapped to their face at Bluewater last week, there was a far more serious message behind it than you might have thought.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) had a stall outside Marks and Spencer on Friday to raise awareness of the dangers of drug- driving, with the end of half-term proving the perfect time to grab the attention of youngsters.

Teenagers starting driving lessons, or those who have only recently secured their licence, were invited to try out the headgear and experience the potentially extreme visual impairment caused by drugs.

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It was all part of a wider KFRS road safety campaign, with a particular focus on the drug-driving swipes now being used by police at the roadside to detect drug taking.

Police are also now asking those they suspect may be on drugs to undertake a test which involves simple things like walking in a straight line or touching their nose. If they find it difficult, chances are they could be under the influence of drugs.

This is where the drug impairment goggles come in, and those who tried them out at Bluewater were wise to put their shopping down first.

Alan Faulkner, crew manager of KFRS’ road safety team, explained: “We’ve been pretty much across the whole county this week and people have been quite shocked at how difficult it is just to walk a line with the goggles on.

“It’s been an eye-opener for a lot of members of the public to realise that at the scenes of crashes, not only are they going to be breathalysed, but in some cases they will actually be drugs tested as well.”

One of those who tried them out at Bluewater was 18-year-old Maisie Hughes. She said: “When I put the goggles on it was really blurry and I lost my balance, and I just couldn’t move or walk. I was quite scared as well.”

VIDEO: Shoppers invited to experience the visual effects of drugs.

After she’d had a go, she was given tips and advice from the KFRS crew about road safety, specifically on the topic of drugs.

She added: “They said don’t take drugs, but if you do, don’t get behind the wheel of a car. If your designated driver is on drugs then make sure you’re safe and don’t get in the car.”

For KFRS, incidents on the roads are now an even bigger part of the remit than fires. The service’s figures suggest that 95% of crashes and collisions are caused by human error, so education is key.

Reporter Tom Acres takes the test:

Having had a go with the drug goggles myself, I can testify to the quite incredible impact it has on your vision and sense of space.

Every step you take makes you feel nervous and nauseous in equal measure, so heaven forbid any of the teenagers who tried it too did so after a lunchtime Nando’s.

You definitely underestimate the effect it has — your vision is a total mess, you forget where you are, and walking in a straight line suddenly becomes something worthy of being the 13th labour of Hercules.

KFRS’ Kerrie Moncrieff also asked me to try to stand on one leg for as long as I could, and I only managed to make it to around 14 seconds. I’d have probably felt more balanced on a pogo stick.

The thought of driving with your vision impaired to such an extent is terrifying, but not as much as the reality that some people really do end up behind the wheel in an even worse state.

If the main aim of the campaign is to warn people about the impact drugs really can have on your perception, then mission accomplished.

Whether it’s a youngster getting behind the wheel for the first time, or an older petrol head, the need to highlight road safety to the public remains the same.

Mr Faulkner continued: “I think everybody can learn from road safety, young and old, so the point of the campaign is to give some of those generic messages as well as focusing on the drug driving.

“It’s estimated that as many as one in five people may be driving around under the influence of drugs.

“It’s estimated that as many as one in five people may be driving around under the influence of drugs" Alan Faulkner

“That’s not necessarily illegal drugs, you get people driving on prescription medication as well and they have taken too many, which makes them drowsy and their driving impaired.

“Some of the older members of the public don’t quite appreciate that their prescription medication can also impair their driving.”

Next stop for the KFRS drug- driving awareness campaign is North Kent College’s Dartford campus on Tuesday, November 15, but that session is for NKC students only.