Words by MICHAEL CRIMMINS
Video by WILL PERKINS
Glasgow News 1
Trojan Academy freshmen were given a unique opportunity to experience impaired and distracted driving on the campus of Barren County High School on Oct. 31.
Led by costume-clad teachers, groups of students were led outside to the Arrive Alive car simulator. Jovial derision such as “that’s a wall!” and “you’re suppose to drive on the right side” accompanied each student’s attempt to navigate a metropolitan street while under the simulated influence of drugs or alcohol.
As previously reported, Oct. 31 was the first day of a two-day event that’s part of UNITE’s Arrive Alive Tour that uses a “high-tech simulator [to] allow participants to experience driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs, and distractions without real-world risks” and “provide teens [with] a powerful reminder of the dangers involved in impaired and distracted driving.”
Barren County High School Principal Letitia Hughes said this is the capstone event for the school’s Red Ribbon Week, an annual week that “highlights the importance of living a drug-free life.”
“I think education is the key,” Hughes said. “Distracted driving is an additional layer to [Red Ribbon Week]…so all of us have to band together as a community to help save each other.”
Hughes said the lesson taught by the tour “knows no age” and hopes this not only teaches the students about distracted and impaired driving but also empowers them to speak up when they see such instances.
“We’re hoping to educate our students and work on reducing their distracted driving, but also to give them the power to be ambassadors to tell their parents or anybody that’s behind the wheel that distracted driving is not good for anyone,” Hughes said.
Students drove the course while the instructor took notes on their driving and gave them a “score” at the end. Most students ended their simulated experience in a crash with a few also causing some casualties.
Freshman Kale Edwards was one such student whose experience led to a crash.
“It was harder than I thought it was going to be,” he said. “There was a couple graphic crashes that probably would’ve resulted in a fatality.”
“Don’t drunk drive or drive distracted…and pay attention on the road and be safe,” Edwards added.
Oct. 31 was strictly for the freshman class, but Hughes said the upperclassmen will be exposed to the simulation on Nov. 1.
“Our goal is to get as many students exposed to the Arrive Alive program as possible,” Hughes said.
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