Despite their best efforts to control the Arrive Alive Jeep parked outside the Innovative High Schools, students crashed into parked cars, hit road blocks, and spun out into trees last Friday.
Luckily, it was all just a driving simulation using virtual reality, car sensors, and impact video to show students the dangers of distracted driving.
As part of the Innovative High Schools’ current emphasis on social responsibility, Principal Beth Caudle brought UNITE’s Arrive Alive Tour® on campus Friday, Sept. 21, and students got behind the wheel with VR goggles while simulator operators chose which experience they would “drive.”
Simulator operator Kent Tiedeman said “filters” are added to the Jeep and VR, adding varied amounts of delayed reactions and focus, tunnel vision with hazy peripherals, and other optical changes to simulate driving under the influence of alcohol or THC.
“For drinking and driving we can alter blood alcohol level (of the Jeep), and for THC we can alter by quarter joint increments,” said Mallory McKenzie, simulator operator.
Estuardo D., a sophomore in the Career Academy, drove with the Jeep under the influence of alcohol and couldn’t stay in his lane.
“The speed limit was 35,” Tiedeman said. “He was going 60 right into those parked cars.” Speaking to the students gathered around the Jeep, “There’s a million people in America getting arrested for drinking and driving every year.”
Other students driving the simulator experienced the delayed reaction times caused by THC. Watching one student crawling through traffic in a 45-mph-zone, McKenzie said, “He’s very cautious – suspiciously cautious.”
Tiedeman added, “A third of all fatalities in which the driver died involves having THC in the system.”
Students who tried the texting-while-driving simulation were instructed to type out specific messages on their phones while trying to keep an eye on the road. Career Academy sophomore Diana L. did well when the roads were clear, but struggled when she encountered construction road blocks, and hit them.
“You’re 23 times more likely to get in an accident when texting and driving,” Tiedeman said.
Another student was relatively successful at staying in his lane while texting, but didn’t notice when another car swerved into his lane, and hit him head-on. Though he wasn’t the one who crossed the double yellow lines, Tiedeman said, “You weren’t focused on the road. You could have prevented that accident.”
After each simulation, students learned the repercussions of their distracted driving demonstrations, as Tiedeman handed them “citations” detailing their performance – including speeding and swerving – and real-life consequences, such as points on their licenses, jail time, and hospitalization.
Caudle said school administrators were excited to host the Arrive Alive Tour®, to give students a relatable, engaging perspective on distracted driving – and to illustrate how safe driving practices are part of social responsibility.
She said, “We wanted to show them that what you do behind the wheel affects so many other people.”
– By Molly McGowan Gorsuch
Public Information Officer
