Simulation shows teens dangers of texting while driving
Staff writer
Marion High School junior Justin Rahe was all over the virtual roadway Thursday while driving a simulator, before he eventually drove off the road.
The simulation was intended to show students how much the distraction of text messaging can affect driving ability.
“It was hard to judge the distance while I was texting,” Rahe said after the simulation. “I’d look down then up, and I’d be so much closer.”
Several students admitted to texting while driving. Of the students that tried the simulator in the morning, none made it more than a minute or two without committing multiple traffic violations or crashing.
“I’m probably going to think twice before pulling out my phone,” Rahe said.
The distraction of texting makes a driver just as unsafe on average as six alcoholic drinks, said presenter Robert Tower of Professionals Encouraging Education Reform Statewide of Grand Rapids, Mich.
The simulation used a real car, and students wore a visor that showed the simulation. Motion sensors on the brake and gas pedals and steering wheel relayed how students drove to the computer running the simulation.
The school was able to bring the simulator to Marion with help from a Kansas Coordinated School Health Grant.
Tower said he began taking the simulator around because he has had multiple friends who died in accidents caused by texting while driving.
A statewide ban on texting while driving was approved earlier this year. Fines go into effect Jan. 1.