Louisiana DWI Simulator Adds Texting while Driving

She took off the virtual reality headset, got out of the car and looked at her printed-out ticket for running a red light and killing a pedestrian while sending a cell phone text message.

“I got a ticket for speeding, swerving, failing to stop and manslaughter … yeah, I hit somebody,” said Cierra Fussell, 15, a student at Grant High School in Dry Prong, Louisiana.

The simulator, sponsored by the Grant Parish Sheriff’s Office, provided the next crop of drivers from Grant Parish with an almost-real experience on the consequences that can come with distracted or drunken driving.

“We want to make people aware of the dangers of drunk driving and the dangers of texting while driving, so that they can make smart decisions regarding their driving habits,” said Jan Griffith, from Unite International, the company that supplied the equipment for the event.

The equipment includes a stationary car called a Stop-Loss simulator tied to sensors and two virtual reality headsets.

One mimics the view of a drunk driver and slows down the student’s reaction time depending on the blood-alcohol level set by the computer. The other simulates reaction time for texters.

Griffith said his company goes to many schools in the hopes that young people will listen to the message that drinking as well as texting while driving is illegal.

“Not everyone listens. You can talk, and some people don’t take it seriously, but you can tell many of them do, you get positive reactions,” Griffith said as the wheels of the simulator screeched, burning the pavement as another student lost control of the simulator vehicle.

Micah Murrell, school resource officer with the Grant Parish Sheriff’s Office, said his office sponsors the event annually to make sure that students who will soon become drivers get a reality check on the responsibility of being behind the wheel.

“These are our next drivers. All of the 10th-graders in the parish came today, and they will be the next ones on the road, so we want all of our drivers to have a high awareness level about” the potential consequences of texting while driving and of drinking and driving, Murrell said.

Students Caitlin Dean and Courtney Carroll said it was a good learning opportunity. They said they had never been in a similar situation and hope they never will be.

“I felt like I couldn’t control the car. I felt like I was turning a little bit, but I was actually turning a lot more. Everything was delayed,” Caitlin said.

Courtney said she should be getting her driver’s license soon, but is concerned about the dangers on the roadway.

Jesse Odom, another student taking part in the event, said he has seen young people lose control while drinking. He said he was at a party recently and saw a transformation taking place as the effects of alcohol took over.

“It wasn’t good for everybody. Me and my friend left the party, we went home,” said Odom, who hopes people will heed the lessons learned at the event.