High-school students learn from drink-driving simulation

Earlier this week, dozens of students from Auburn High School in Auburn, New York, took part in a drink-driving simulation.

Katy Foster, a student at the school, found drink-driving more difficult and dangerous than she thought it would be. By the time she completed her digital drive, her many driving violations had racked up fines of more than $2,000 (£1,470), and she also hit a pedestrian.

Julie Liccion, the adviser for Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD), said that the club worked with several local groups to hold the drink-driving simulation, including the Auburn Police Department, the Drug-Free Community Coalition (DFC), and the Cayuga County Deputy Sheriff’s Benevolent Association.

Even though the students participating in the simulation were younger than the legal drinking age, Liccion said it was realistic to expect that some teenagers would be exposed to alcohol. She said, “Even though they are underage, we know that it does happen, and they go to parties and they may be tempted to have a drink or two and get behind the wheel”. Licion added that the intent was to raise awareness and open young minds to the impacts that their actions might have on families, victims and themselves.

JoLynn Mulholland, DFC’s project coordinator, said that her agency wanted to use the simulation to address drug-driving as well as drink-driving. She said that alcohol was the most frequently-used substance by local teenagers, with 75% of students at risk for alcohol use. A recent study found that 16.6% of local 10th graders drank an alcoholic beverage in the last month, while 11.6% smoked marijuana, and 4.7% abused prescription drugs.