The Hudson Falls High School had a special visitor on Tuesday, April 25th as the nationally-recognized Save A Life Tour presented to students of driving age. In partnership with the Stop DWI Foundation and the Washington County Sheriff’s office, the Save A Life Tour offered up its unique approach to educating drivers on the importance of avoiding distractions and impairments while driving.
Prior to the visit students watched a video and completed a survey about the many safety issues that can be encountered behind the wheel, with the purpose of instilling good driving habits. A lecture presentation was accompanied by two driving simulators, impaired driving and distracted driving.
The impaired simulator had students experience delayed response while driving and highlighted that many forms of impairment exist beyond illegal drugs and alcohol, such as prescriptions and over-the-counter medication that can put drivers at peril. The distracted driving simulator required the driver to answer questions on a cell phone while trying to drive. Both simulators were effective at showcasing the difficulty in navigating a vehicle under the conditions and how easy accidents could occur.
Undersheriff John Winchell, who was on hand throughout the day, spoke about the importance of having a plan and prevention. “Old school mentality was to increase patrols and catch drivers while driving impaired. The new school mentality is to educate and prevent the situation from occurring in the first place.”
While the experience was fun and a break from class for the students, the message is something that can be shared with friends and family members, have a plan to get home safely!
For more information on the Save A Life Tour please visit their website. To download the Stop DWI Have a Plan mobile app click here.
The Post Star also had a feature!
