By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City, Tenn.–Students at Union City High School had their eyes opened to a real-world experience they’d do well to avoid.
The Arrive Alive Tour visited the UCHS campus recently, giving students a hands-on example of drunk and distracted driving via a car simulator.
The Arrive Alive Tour is the nation’s number one ranked drunk and distracted driving awareness event. The exhibit uses a high-tech, state-of-the-art simulator that allows participants to drive while distracted, drunk, or drugged in a fully functioning vehicle without moving or being intoxicated.
With the exhibit, students were given first-hand experience of the perils of drunk and/or distracted driving via a virtual reality headset operated by a member of the AAT team. A television monitor allowed their classmates to watch each other, and citations were written following each session by that AAT official, who critiqued each driver and their mistakes while operating the simulator.
“This is a great tool to warn our young people against making poor decisions and getting behind the wheel of a vehicle,” said UC High School SRO Raphe Whaley, who oversaw the exhibit and is the state’s longest-tenured officer in his position. “Our students were attentive, and the exercise was a real eye-opener for some of them.
“This is a wonderful program that has served many communities well as a life-changing event.”
Last year, there were more than 178,000 car accidents in Tennessee, with nearly 62,000 of those involving drivers ages 16-25. Teen drivers remain significantly at risk, and young drivers (ages 16-20) are 17 times more likely to die in a crash when they have a blood alcohol content of .08 percent than if they have not been drinking.
Distracted driving is responsible for more than 11 percent of all car accidents in Tennessee, emphasizing the need for continued education on the dangers of impaired or distracted driving.
The AAT is sponsored by the Tennessee Highway Safety Office.