By: Emily Briselli
For Hershey High School students, arriving to their destination unharmed was harder than they might think.
On Friday, May 13, 2016, Hershey High School’s Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) Club hosted Arrive Alive in order to inform students about the dangers of driving while distracted or intoxicated. Arrive Alive is an event run by Unite, a health and wellness organization whose programs are designed to “heighten awareness to the dangers and consequences of drunk driving.”
The Arrive Alive program simulated the effects of driving while distracted or under the influence of alcohol through a virtual reality system connected to a parked vehicle. Participants sat in the driver’s seat of the car and used the wheel, brakes, and accelerator just as they would if they were actually driving.
However, instead of risking the potentially dangerous consequences of actually driving in a distracted or compromised state, the person behind the wheel wore a special set of goggles that displayed a virtual roadway, similar to the type you would find in a videogame.
Students had the option of simulating either drinking and driving or texting and driving, and the virtual reality was changed based on their choice. Those choosing to simulate texting and driving were instructed to send a text message while operating the vehicle, which impaired their ability to stay focused on everything occurring on the roadway. Those simulating intoxication experienced delays in the car’s turning, accelerating, and braking mechanisms, and were limited to a narrow field of vision, referred to as “tunnel vision,” by the virtual reality goggles.
Because of the impairments that the virtual reality simulated, only three HHS students were able to successfully complete the course without swerving off the roadway, causing an accident, or hitting a pedestrian. Upon completion of the simulation, each student was given a citation denoting the traffic violations that they had committed, ranging from speeding to vehicular manslaughter.
Unite employees Katie and Ayron Austin ran the simulation at Hershey High School, and said that they hope this program is an effective means of preventing distracted or drunk driving accidents.
Mr. Austin shared that while he truly does believe the students who say that they would never drive while distracted or under the influence, it is an entirely different story when they actually are put into the situation and get behind the wheel. He hopes that this program makes them think twice before they do something that could permanently alter their life or the life of someone else.
HHS students also conveyed their support of Arrive Alive’s impact on student drivers. Junior Liza Gobat shared that “if you communicate with them [students] in a way that can be fun but also effective, it will really get to them.” She felt that Arrive Alive seemed to do just that.
Similarly to Gobat, sophomore Lily Strader said that Arrive Alive successfully provided students with the opportunity to better understand how serious driving while impaired can be. “You never know how it [impaired driving] is unless you’ve done it,” stated Strader, “so this is an effective way to show you.”
In addition to the virtual reality scenario, students were able to attempt to walk in a straight line while wearing “drunk goggles,” which skewed their vision and affected their coordination. The goggles, as well as an informational table, were provided by the Dauphin County Department of Drug and Alcohol Services.
Even though students were able to laugh and have fun, Arrive Alive’s message of focused and responsible driving was clearly presented to everyone. As Mr. Austin said to students taking the wheel, “At least here you get a second chance. In real life, you don’t.”
