Student Advisory Council Tests Distracted Driving Simulators and Goggles

Published March 2, 2017

A new task force is doing its part to educate student drivers about the dangers of distracted driving.

On February 27, the WCS Student Safe-Driving Task Force met with members of the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council. The students, all high school juniors and seniors, were invited to use various simulators and goggles that demonstrate the effects of distracted driving.

“The driving simulation was a great learning experience,” Page High senior Kelsey Hatley said. “We all got to play the roles of distracted driving, and it was not easy. I am sometimes bad about checking my phone while driving, but the simulation driving machine taught me what will happen if you get in an accident due to distracted driving.”

The simulation took distracted driving one step further showing students the uphill legal battle they may face for driving distracted.

“The simulation took us through the process of lawsuits, court and how much you would have to pay in that situation,” said Hatley. “It was very scary. Due to the simulation, I now know what happens in those situations, and I will make sure not to text and drive again.”

The purpose of the meeting was to get feedback from the Student Advisory Council about whether or not these kinds of simulations and materials could help students be safer drivers.

“I got a couple of emails from students who said they thought it was engaging, very interesting and it really allowed them to visually be able to see how distracted driving can cause an accident,” WCS Special Projects Manager Dr. Angela Huff said. “This was a way to get their input on what we need to do as a district.”