Colony DUI Distracted Carts - Seth Root

Colony High School Students Get Lesson in Distracted Driving

On November 16, 2011, teens at Colony High School took the wheel of electric
carts to learn how impairment and distraction affects their driving. The Alaska State Troopers
partnered with Colony High School to put on a DUI and distracted driving presentation.

Sergeant Dan Cox from the Alaska Bureau of Highway Patrol doled out his good
advice on what not to do while driving on Alaska's roads. To show a gym full of
high schoolers exactly what he was talking about, he had four students assist him
in proving his points. He had the participating students drive an obstacle course
on a small electrical cart while texting and driving, wearing the "drunk goggles"
which blurs vision, holding a small dog and being distracted by a friend along for
the ride. Besides being unsafe, impaired driving and using a screen device while
driving are misdemeanor crimes in the state of Alaska.

Needless to say, the teens had a difficult time staying on track. A number of
cones were knocked over by a wayward electrical cart operated by distracted
drivers.

"I heard some of the students talking about it after the assembly was over and
they were saying that it never occurred to them that if they texted someone that
was driving they could be distracting that driver," said Sergeant Cox. "And for
me, the most important part was getting the message out that they need to put
100% of their attention into the act of driving and not treat it as time to do something
else."

Category:

Education

Tags:

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• distracted
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• impaired
• Alaska
• State
• Troopers
• Bureau
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• Highway
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• electric
• cart
• drunk
• goggles
• texting
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• obstacle
• course
• BHP
• DPS
• Driving Under The Influence
• Drive
• Alcohol Intoxication