CHICOPEE, Mass. - The start of summer marks a dangerous time for teen drivers, with fatal crashes happening more frequently between Memorial Day and Labor Day in a period known as the ‘100 Deadliest Days’.
What You Need To Know
- The Arrive Alive Tour is at Chicopee Comprehensive High School on Monday and Tuesday
- The traveling simulator shows students the dangers of distracted driving firsthand
- Students use a virtual reality headset and get behind the wheel, using the car's real brakes and gas pedal
- The period between Memorial Day and Labor Day is typically a dangerous time for teen drivers
Before students at Chicopee Comprehensive High School begin their summer break, they got some experience behind the wheel with a virtual reality simulation connected to a stationary vehicle’s steering wheel, brakes and gas pedal.
The Arrive Alive Tour brings this vehicle to high schools throughout the region, with the hope it helps teach a valuable lesson.
“I think it’s really good for high school students, especially because you hope most of them haven’t partaken in drugs or alcohol yet, and pretty soon they’ll be going off to college,” said event coordinator Jalen Burress. “If you can give them events that make it stick in their minds that these aren’t smart decisions, we think it’s really positive for them.”
When students get in the car, they put on a VR headset and begin driving. Depending on which impairment setting is on, the car will respond differently - delayed response in the braking or steering, for example.
At the end, students are given a citation to show how many violations were made along the way.
“I’m really happy that they came out today,” said student Matthew MacKenzie.
The Chicopee Police Department was able to use money from an annual traffic grant to help bring the simulator to the high school for two days, and Travis Odiorne, a public information officer with the department, said it’s always important to make both drivers and pedestrians aware of the risks of impaired driving as summer begins.
“Operators, be aware of pedestrians out there, and pedestrians, make sure you’re making eye contact with drivers across the street, just make sure they know that your intent is to cross the street, don’t just walk out even if you’re at a crosswalk,” Odiorne said. “Just take the extra two seconds, make eye contact, make sure the driver knows. We’re going to see more pedestrians, more kids on street bikes, skateboards and young people crossing the road. It’s important to be aware of your surroundings and see what’s going on.”