The Miller Place School District recently held an interactive driver-safety workshop at Miller Place High School in an effort to promote safe driving habits among students. During the program, seniors learned about the dangers of being impaired and distracted behind the wheel using interactive, virtual-reality technology. The program, “Save a Life Tour,” is a comprehensive, high-impact, safe-driving awareness program offered to high school students throughout the country. Miller Place High School was the tour’s only stop on Long Island this year.
One of the workshop’s main features was a high-tech driver’s-seat simulator, which mimicked the impairments of having a high blood alcohol content. The simulator enabled students to experience the potentially deadly consequences of drinking and texting while driving.
The purpose of the “Save a Life Tour” was to make students more aware of driving dangers by showing how one poor decision can lead to crashes, injuries and sometimes death. Students experienced how much the brakes and steering wheel “lag” as blood-alcohol levels increase on the simulator. They experienced difficulty in stopping, turning and accelerating as alcohol affects reaction times.
