Spring Break
DUI Simulator
Towson Students Drive Drunk
Molly Hooven
Issue date: 5/12/08 Section: News
You get behind the wheel of your car and start to drive away, thinking you can control your vehicle even though you've been drinking. Once you realize you probably shouldn't be on the road, it's too late. You hit a curb, swerve and run into a building. This is the scenario many Towson students had the chance to experience Wednesday though the new DUI Simulator Car.
As part of the "Save a Life" tour, students had the chance to partake in a drunken driving simulator where they experienced the first hand effects of alcohol on the body.
Just like in an arcade, students were able to sit in a car seat and navigate throughout streets to test their impaired driving abilities.
One screen was in front of the driver and one to the left and right for a full view of the road. The simulator was held on the Susquehanna Terrace from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.
With snowy weather conditions, street lights and stop signs, students had a totally unscripted environment that included over 87
miles of roadway and intelligent and random traffic. While waiting in line for their chance to try the simulator students watched a large screen with a helicopters view of the road and the driver.
As the students progressed through the simulator their numbers projected on the screen would increase as the level of difficulty increased.
Several students tried the simulator and lost control of the car causing the crowd of faculty and peers to say "ahh" and "watch out!"
Freshman, Jeff Tavani, heard about the DUI simulator a couple years ago from a friend at another college and decided to give it a try.
"It was alright. It was just a video game," Tavani said. "It can't portray real life."
Tavani and his friends do not have a car on campus but if they did he said the simulator would affect the way he drives.
"It reminds you of (the risk),"Tavani said.
Emily Sears from the Counseling Center hopes that through the "realistic perspective" and "simulated delayed reactions" students walk away with more knowledge about the risks of drunk driving.
As part of the "Save a Life" tour, students had the chance to partake in a drunken driving simulator where they experienced the first hand effects of alcohol on the body.
Just like in an arcade, students were able to sit in a car seat and navigate throughout streets to test their impaired driving abilities.
One screen was in front of the driver and one to the left and right for a full view of the road. The simulator was held on the Susquehanna Terrace from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.
With snowy weather conditions, street lights and stop signs, students had a totally unscripted environment that included over 87
miles of roadway and intelligent and random traffic. While waiting in line for their chance to try the simulator students watched a large screen with a helicopters view of the road and the driver.
As the students progressed through the simulator their numbers projected on the screen would increase as the level of difficulty increased.
Several students tried the simulator and lost control of the car causing the crowd of faculty and peers to say "ahh" and "watch out!"
Freshman, Jeff Tavani, heard about the DUI simulator a couple years ago from a friend at another college and decided to give it a try.
"It was alright. It was just a video game," Tavani said. "It can't portray real life."
Tavani and his friends do not have a car on campus but if they did he said the simulator would affect the way he drives.
"It reminds you of (the risk),"Tavani said.
Emily Sears from the Counseling Center hopes that through the "realistic perspective" and "simulated delayed reactions" students walk away with more knowledge about the risks of drunk driving.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
New Jersey Movers
posted 10/22/09 @ 11:48 AM EST
This sounds like a good way to make people think more about the dangers of drunk driving before getting behind the wheel. It's a modern and innovative way to deliver this message and I think it resonates with the college aged age group very well. (Continued…)
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posted 11/25/09 @ 1:04 AM EST
It is a good idea to do this.
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