Delaware Instructors Use “Beer Goggles” to Simulate Impaired Driving
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A study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that teenage motorists with at least one friend or peer as a passenger were more than 2.5 times as likely to engage in risky driving behaviors, one of which is intoxicated driving.
To help combat dangerous driving behaviors, a recent Delaware teen driving safety course showed teens just how bad this distracted and impaired driving can be. One of the modules utilized “beer googles” to show how scary operating a vehicle is while under the influence.
Distracted and intoxicated driving mean fatal car crashes for Delaware teens
In early October, the Camden’s Caesar Rodney High School program invited the SmartDrive Foundation and its Distraction and Reaction program to the school to help lower those numbers. The program allowed students to “drive” a four-wheel bike around the parking lot of the school while engaging in various distractions.
In one of the modules, Instructors strapped impairment goggles on the Caesar Rodney students and had try to tackle a figure-eight course in their pedal carts in an effort to give the students a feel for what it’s like to drive impaired.
“Our impairment vision goggles simulate the effect on your vision of a .08-blood alcohol level, which is legally drunk in the state of Delaware,” said Pete Booker, executive director of SmartDrive. “So they see how driving a vehicle, even a simple vehicle like this, can be affected.”
NHTSA consistently finds that teenagers are the most likely age group to die in an alcohol related car accident. In 2014, 621 people were in killed in car crashes that involved intoxicated teen drivers. Just this past January, a Delaware high school senior was killed and another charged with vehicular homicide and driving under the influence as a minor. The teen said he and his friend were “looking for something to do” when they decided to drink, then drive.
Talk to your children before you let them behind the wheel. Kids need to know that their decisions can hurt or kill friends, neighbors, and loved ones. If you have been in a car accident with a distracted or impaired teen driver, you will need a compassionate Delaware car crash attorney to help you obtain the restitution you deserve.
The long-serving and trusted law firm of Silverman, McDonald, & Friedman care about your family and your teenager. We represent youth and adults who have been hurt by distracted and impaired drivers, and we put our clients’ needs first. We proudly work with clients in Seaford, Wilmington, Newark, and all over Delaware. Please call our offices at 302-888-2900 or fill out our contact form now to schedule a free consultation.
Attorney Jeffrey S. Friedman joined Silverman, McDonald & Friedman in 2001. He graduated from Widener University School of Law, and is admitted to practice law in Delaware and Pennsylvania, and in several Federal Circuit courts. He areas of concentration include auto accident and workers’ compensation cases. Read more about Attorney Friedman here.