WVA: BCHS students experience simulated DUI driving
By Shirley Shuman
September 5, 2018
Students in driver education classes at the local high school recently had the opportunity to experience the effects and dangers of driving under the influence without actually drinking. Provided by the WV Alcohol Beverage Control Administration, the DUI Simulator Program visited BCHS last Thursday and Friday. Students who experienced the simulation agreed that they had earned something, and driver education instructor Ernie Tingler indicated that he was certain it was a worthwhile experience.
Although the most common response to a question asking what they had learned was “Don’t drink and drive,” some students elaborated on their experiences.
Lindsey Toler first said, “It was kind of weird,” then continued to explain what she had felt. “First I was driving fine,” she said, “but then I started veering across the lane” as the simulator produced the effects of increased BAC. Gracie Phillips acknowledged the effects of drinking. “The more the BAC went up, the more it made me a little nauseated.
[With the] higher level came poor driving, too.” Karlena Boyce called the simulated driving “fun but also terrifying.” She explained, “It seemed so real when you were driving.” Asked what she learned, Boyce answered, “Even if you drink a little, it’s going to affect your driving.”
Saying the experience definitely “served its purpose,” instructor Tingler continued. “I’d rate the experience as very eye-opening. For some of these kids, it’s nothing to ‘do this stuff,’ but the simulator lets them see exactly what happens when you drink and drive,” he said.
Tingler also noted that exposing the students to the simulator program helps when they study impaired driving later in the year. “They understand much better,” he noted. Explaining the purposes of the simulator program, DUI Simulator Program Coordinator Dan Perkins said, “We do it to give the kids a hands-on approach to learning, just like learning to drive by driving.
We show them what not to do.” He continued to say that the simulator “adjusts the steering and the brakes to mimic driving under different levels of alcohol.”
The DUI Simulator is taken throughout the state to high schools, institutions of higher learning, and other venues to teach West Virginia youth about the harmful effects of drinking and driving. The program was first unveiled in 2010. Since that time,over 45,000 students have participated. It is sponsored by State Farm, Governor’s Highway Safety Program and the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association.