Arrive Alive Tour visits Decatur High School

Program teaches students dangers of distracted driving

DECATUR — One of the most convenient tools of the modern age is also one of the most deadly when coupled with the one invention that moves this nation. One national organization is dedicated to educating the public on the use of these conveniences and to saving lives.

Two members of Arrive Alive Tour were at Decatur High School Friday with a hightechnology simulation device in an effort to educate students as to the dangers of distracted and impaired driving.

The unfortunate truth is that texting and driving can and does lead to serious injury and even death to drivers and passengers — even to pedestrians simply walking down the street.

“Car crashes are the number one cause of death for everyone in the U.S. ages 5-34, with teens

crashing three times more often than any other age group (CDC, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety).

Texting while driving makes a driver 23 times more likely to crash and about six times more likely to cause an accident than driving while intoxicated (NHTSA, VA Tech Transportation Institute).

Sending or receiving a text takes a driver’s eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent of driving the length of an entire football field blind when traveling at 55 mph (VTTI). Texting and driving kill 11 teens each day (IIHS).

Each Decatur middle and high school student had a chance to sit in the driving simulator. The students put on a pair of virtual reality goggles which are wired to a computer system in the rear seat of the vehicle. The goggles pick up movement by the driver. Outside the vehicle, a “Passenger-Eye View” monitor enables students to see what the driver is experiencing.

After the experience, the driver can see a drone-eye view of the entire experience. At the end, one of the facilitators issues a mock ticket “explaining the ramification of their simulator experiences” (Arrive Alive brochure).

The goal of the Arrive Alive Tour is to teach students the consequences of distracted driving and the effects it could have on family, friends, and the world around them.

Westside Eagle Observer/MIKE ECKELS Sunshine Thor gets her turn behind the wheel of a driving simulator Friday morning in the parking area at Decatur High School. The simulator is part of the Arrive Alive Tour that teaches future drivers the dangers of distracted driving habits.

Westside Eagle Observer/MIKE ECKELS The Arrive Alive SUV driving simulator was at Decatur High School Friday morning, giving students a chance to get behind the wheel to experience the dangers of distracted driving.