By Steffen Klenk
Earlier this week, area students were given a chance to go ‘behind the wheel’ and learn about the dangers of distracted and impaired driving, using a hands-on, video-game-like driving simulator. Mainland students were some of the first in our region to try it out. For students like junior Antonio Tartaglia, it has proven to be beneficial. “If you’re actually driving, then you got to be serious on the roads.”
The simulator was brought to MRHS on Monday and Tuesday thanks to the John R. Elliott HERO Campaign. Representatives from the South Jersey Transpiration Planning Organization were on-hand for the two-day instruction and have partnered to bring the simulator to other area high schools. Mainland Regional is one of the first high schools locally to utilize the technology in driver’s education classes, alongside Egg Harbor Township and Millville.
Thanks in large part to funding by a grant from the Honda USA Foundation, the “One Simple Decision” virtual simulator enables students to ‘drive’ an on-screen car while altering their reactions to simulate impaired driving scenarios. If the drivers get into an accident, videos of police and EMTs arriving on the scene provide realistic consequences of drunk driving, including scenes of judges imposing fines on drivers and revoking their licenses.
The virtual instruction unit is intended for high school students, who will sit in front of a large desktop computer screen equipped with a steering wheel and pedals. Another module shows students the dangerous consequences of distracted driving using text messages. “It’s so gratifying to see the reactions of these Mainland High School students as they experience the new HERO DUI simulator,” Bill Elliott says. “This is the most realistic DUI prevention education method we’ve seen.”
Mainland’s Athletic Director Michael Gately supervises the school’s driver’s education curriculum and says their students have gained a lot from the simulation. “Since our MRHS students receive their driver’s education training in their freshman year, this was a great hands-on supplement for our upper classmen, many of whom are now beginning to drive.
With the help of local law enforcement, colleges, high schools, bars, restaurants and sports teams, the John R. Elliott HERO Campaign continues to promote the importance of safe and sober driving throughout South Jersey.
The HERO Campaign offers the simulator to local high schools in cooperation with the Atlantic County Division of Highway Safety and South Jersey Transportation Planning Organization. High school personnel interested in bringing the “One Simple Decision” simulator to their school can e-mail info@herocampaign.org or call 609-233-4787.
