Hopewell teens experience dangers of distracted driving through virtual exercises - WWBT

HOPEWELL, Va. (WWBT) - DRIVE SMART Virginia, Hopewell Police Department and VCU traveled to Hopewell High School to amended sophomores students astir the dangers of distracted driving utilizing its thrust astute simulator Wednesday.

This acquisition programme included a virtual world simulation installed into a full-size vehicle. Students wore a headset that simulated the dangers teens mightiness acquisition erstwhile down the wheel, each portion being fixed commands by instructors.

“We’ll beryllium giving them things that mightiness distract them, like, for example, turning up the radio, reaching up and grabbing their compartment telephone to talk with a household member, oregon reaching the backmost spot to drawback something,” said DRIVE SMART spokesperson Ben Bruce.

DRIVE SMART created the programme years agone successful effect to the information that car crashes are the starring origin of teen deaths successful America.

“Just that divided 2nd is oftentimes capable for them to person a clang oregon to swerve disconnected the road,” Bruce said.

All week the enactment stopped by aggregate schoolhouse divisions crossed cardinal Virginia.

“We had to deliberation extracurricular the container erstwhile creating this program,” said Janet Brooking, Executive Director of DRIVE SMART Virginia. “We wanted this to beryllium an effectual mode to amended teens successful a harmless and engaging environment. Our subordinate surveys person shown the programme is working, with 95% of teens surveyed saying they would urge the programme to their peers.”

About 300 students astatine Hopewell High School were besides required to maneuver astir pedestrians, debar parked vehicles and obey postulation laws, each portion wearing goggles that simulated impairment.

“I thought it was going to beryllium easy, but it was really a batch harder than I thought,” said Hopewell sophomore Gabriel Gore.

DRIVE SMART besides partnered with Powhattan Sheriff Deputy Brad Hughes. Eight years ago, portion responding to a postulation mishap connected Midlothian Turnpike, Hughes was pinned to his squad car by a distracted driver. He spent his clip astatine the precocious schoolhouse sharing his communicative with students.

“I’m coming successful connected a powerfulness chair. I’m coming successful with nary legs, and it makes them wonderment what happened to myself,” Hughes said. “Unfortunately, I mislaid my close limb connected the scene. Once I got to the hospital, they took my near limb from me.”

Hughes says his main extremity successful partnering with DRIVE SMART Virginia is to scope the minds of teens earlier they ever get their driver’s licence truthful that they tin support themselves from being successful his presumption oregon beryllium the ones to origin it for idiosyncratic else.

“The value present is that everyone sees the reality,” Hughes said. “Just due to the fact that you person that licence doesn’t marque you the expert.”

According to DRIVE SMART, tens of thousands of teens person participated successful this programme successful the past 8 years acknowledgment to important assistance backing from State Farm.

DRIVE SMART Virginia partners with section assemblage groups specified arsenic trauma centers, instrumentality enforcement agencies, and unfortunate advocates to grow the acquisition programming by bringing real-world stories to students.

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