BRIGHTON, Mich. – We often hear about deadly crashes on our freeways because the driver was impaired or distracted. That’s why one local insurance agency is doing its part to educate our next generation of drivers about the dangers that come with having their license.
This program out of West Michigan called the Arrive Alive Tour brings a real car and simulator around the country to teach kids about the dangers of driving drunk, high or distracted.
“So you get all the physicalness of driving, but mentally you’re in a VR headset,” said Arrive Alive Tour Educator Shaquille Hill. “And in front of the computer system, we put in delay driving peripheral vision, and things like that and the systems that you’re under.”
“It was like a little blurry on the corners of the screen,” said Brighton High School Freshman Owen Buckley.
“I did the THC one,” said Brighton High School Freshman Scarlet Hayes. “And the vision is like blurry. It has like weird flares. And it’s really like stiff to turn, and the reaction time is super slow.”
The tour made a stop at Brighton High School thanks to a Brighton insurance agency owner who hopes this training can help avoid any severe crashes in the future.
“These kids don’t have their driver’s licenses yet, but they will, and hopefully, they’ll remember this program when they do get behind the wheel of a car or driving,” said Brighton Insurence Owner Shawn Pipoly.
Kim DeGiulio tested out the car herself, and she says that the simulator is kind of fun. She says it gives a feel of being in a video game. She believes the excitement of having others watching you during the simulation is fun too, but the message she wants everyone to understand is that driving distracted, drunk, or high is not safe as it will likely lead to a crash.
Pipoly says if bringing this program to Brighton even sparks a conversation between the students about the dangers of driving while impaired or distracted, then it’s with it.
“It’s usually like the other people in the car that usually get hurt other than the drunk driver,” Brighton High School Freshman Lauren Hollis. “So you’re like putting other people’s lives at risk. Even if you aren’t even under any influence, you’re still hurting and impacting other people’s lives.”
Pipoly says he hopes it also brings up discussions about how to avoid using your phone while driving, too.
“I think it’d be really helpful to have my phone present like in separate console or in the middle console and have the ringer off so then it’s not making any noises, and it’s not distracting and I can’t see it, so I’m not tempted to pick it up,” Hayes said.