All students and staff were invited to "drive" a real car while wearing a headset with an integrated graphic interface. All participants first did a practice drive and then chose whether they wanted to "drive under the influence" or text and drive. For the driving under the influance simulation, the goggles on the headset would get slightly distorted and the vision field would narrow. Participants then did a second drive to see how their driving was affected. For the texting while driving simulation, the participant’s cell phone chirped while they were driving, indicating there was an incoming text. They were asked to respond with "I am on my way to class" while maneuvering through traffic and pedestrians crossing the street. Most participants increased their speed and swerved in both simulations and often hit curbs, other vehicles and even pedestrians. Spectators could watch the simulation on large TV monitors. After the simulation was complete, participants were given a "ticket" describing what laws were broken during the exercise. Thank you to everyone who participated in this event.
On Monday, September 12, the Arrive Alive Tour spent the day at Ranken educating students and staff about the dangers of driving under the influence and texting while driving.
Comments