Impaired-driving simulation glasses have come a long way, and just in time to address a surge in crashes involving texting and drunken driving.
The tools to help high school and college students understand the effects of driving drunk have served their purpose over the years, but a high-tech version of the concept arrived at the College of Lake County in Grayslake Monday and brought the lesson to a whole new level.
Using a virtual-reality headset and an operational car on blocks, the Arrive Alive Tour, run by the wellness company UNITE, provides a modern-day, video game-quality experience to participants who experience firsthand the effects of driving with various blood-alcohol levels, as well as the hazards that await those texting and driving.
The car’s steering changes and the vehicle becomes more difficult to drive as the simulated level of alcohol goes up, and participants experience the sensations that come with impaired driving.
The virtual-reality glasses challenge with a barrage of realistic hazards that can pop up while one is driving impaired or taking his or her eyes off the road to write or read texts. Children run into the street chasing balls. A firetruck suddenly turns in front of the driver. Jaywalkers appear and pedestrians that would be noticed if one is concentrating fully blend into the backdrop.
“It was unique and realistic,” CLC student Eric Olvera, president of the school’s Computer Club, said of the Arrive Alive experience after exiting the car. “I immediately began to see how your vision is impacted and noticed the increased difficulty in judging distance.”
Asked if he felt CLC students would take the messages about driving drunk and texting while driving seriously after trying the simulator, Olvera said he believed they would.
More Top Picks Delonghi Portable Air Conditioner Review
“I would assume so,” he said. “I took it very seriously. I recently turned 21.
“It’s definitely a chance for people to experience the (dangers) and understand the consequences.”
“I got a (virtual) DUI citation,” Dwayne Albino, of Beach Park, said after he exited the car and his driving was evaluated. And that wasn’t the worst of it — he was also cited for vehicular manslaughter as part of the simulation.
“I hit two people. I apparently hit a little girl. I didn’t see her — she blended in with the environment,” he said as he displayed the mock ticket he received from one of the workers at the event.
Albino said he has never used the amount of alcohol involved in the simulation or driven drunk, but he said he would take the lesson seriously.
“It’s crazy,” he said of the experience.
UNITE CEO Patrick DeGrasse said the replica tickets are handed out to participants as the last phase of the exercise to help them consider the legal and financial ramifications of drinking or texting while driving as well as the possibility of injury or death.
DeGrasse said the company runs its Arrive Alive tours through funds from the participating institutions, which include high schools and colleges, NASA and military facilities, businesses, fairs and festivals.
The CLC stop Monday was the group’s first appearance in the Chicago area in four years, he said.
DeGrasse said the experience is memorable because it uses a fully functioning car, immobilized on blocks, to allow participants a realistic experience. It includes an operational steering wheel as well as gas and brake pedals, and high-quality virtual reality to throw obstacles and situations at drivers that require their full attention, just as the real world does, he said.
While the hazards of drinking and driving have been known for decades, DeGrasse said drivers need to realize that it is “literally impossible” to text and drive effectively at the same time, because the human brain can only successfully focus on one or the other.
He said drivers under 20 years old have the highest proportion of distraction-related fatal crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and that the statistics are not surprising because they text more than any other age group.
DeGrasse said he has experienced loss as a result of texting while driving and that it is important for young people to realize the extent of the dangers and the potential aftermath.
“They don’t realize what pieces are left behind for the family,” he said.
Marvin Burrus, a CLC student and president of the school’s Wellness Club, said Monday morning he was glad to see a good turnout in terms of participation among students and even faculty members. He said about 30 students tried the simulator by mid-morning.
“We’re trying to bring more awareness about what happens with distracted driving,” Burrus said. “It’s not only drunk driving, but texting and driving. People don’t realize how dangerous it is.”
CLC faculty member Lisa Daniels, who handles traffic safety training at the college, said Monday’s simulator program was part of an educational partnership with Lake County Circuit Court dating back 25 years.
Daniels tried the simulator and said it goes well beyond its predecessors, such as impairment glasses, in terms of realism and interest.
“This does the trick,” she said. “We’ve had more students come out and take advantage of it.”
Twitter @jimnewton5