Safe driving program visits Taylor, Western | News

Taylor High School student Landen Bratton struck a pole Friday morning while responding to a text.

He wasn’t hurt, and it wasn’t real — just a simulation — but hopefully it proved a point.

Bratton was one of dozens of students who learned about the dangers of the road and safe driving tips last week through the Save a Life Tour, an educational program about driving.

Students at Taylor got to experience distracted driving and impaired driving with the use of virtual reality. They sat behind the wheel as they drove on screen. The simulators also had driving pedals and seat belts.

The distracted driving set-up had students drive and, after a little bit, they were handed a phone and had to respond to a text while driving.

“It is different, I’ll tell you that,” Bratton, a freshman, said. “Adults make it look easy.”

He crashed into a pole while looking at the phone screen.

The impaired set-up had students wear a VR headset that slowed their reaction. They had to navigate driving on busy streets in a city. The seat also moved.

“It was kind of fun,” said Brinn Salyers.

“The breaking is not realistic,” added Brooke McCoon.

McCoon did both simulations.

“That was really hard,” she said of the texting-and-driving simulator. “It’s definitely different.”

Getting kids to understand how one’s life can drastically change is the goal of Save a Life Tour, according to Titus Koso, who led the Taylor kids through Friday’s simulations.

“I want the kids to understand the dangers of the road,” he said. “I just want them to understand what can happen when you take your eyes off the road.”

Outside, kids could get a feel of how large a semitruck is and how limited a semi driver’s vision can be.

The American Truck Association sponsored Friday’s event. Representatives let students sit in the driver’s seat of the semitruck and talked about blind spots and how the size of the big trucks limit what their drivers can see. Defensive driving when around big rigs was the overarching sentiment.

Koso said the simulations can be hit or miss. The hope is kids will take the messaging to heart, especially those who are learning to drive, though some do blow it off.

“If I get one person, I’m good with it,” he said.

On Wednesday, Save a Life Tour was at Western High School. Those students also got to do the driving simulations.