BLUFFTON, OH (WLIO) - It's no shock to know that teens and young drivers face a variety of challenges when they're behind the wheel. From texting and driving to being under the influence. Our Casey Mulcahy tells us how the students at Bluffton High School got a "crash" course in learning how to save a life.
Students engaged in two separate driving simulations.
When the students of Bluffton High School head to homecoming this weekend, they'll be looking forward to dressing up, taking pictures, and dancing. But one other thing they'll be prepared for is safe driving, thanks to the Save A Life Tour, who stopped by the high school to give the students a lesson about distracted driving and driving under the influence.
For the Save a Life Tour, they want the students to walk away knowing they can save a life by making good decisions behind the wheel.
"I know a lot of my friends that do text and sometimes even drink and drive, and I don't think that we truly understand the importance. So them coming here today and showing us the awareness of how important it is is really awesome to me. I think I don't know what I would do if one of my friends got into an accident due to being drunk and driving or texting and driving, so I love that they showed that to us today," said Libby Hocanson, a junior at Bluffton High School.
A VR headset showed the effects of blurred vision and slowed reaction time when driving under the influence.
Students engaged in two separate driving simulations. One was designed to show the dangers of texting and driving, and another with a VR headset showed the effects of blurred vision and slowed reaction time when driving under the influence.
"When you're drunk and driving, I don't know how anybody even does that because everything is just like, it's spinning everything. Now I made it through the course, but it was hard. It's just not really worth it because you have so many other ways to get a ride. Like ordering that Uber is going to be way easier than getting on the road with a bunch of other people and then crashing, going to jail, maybe killing somebody," said Ethan Sprunger, a sophomore at Bluffton High School.
Students could also try on goggles to show the effects of alcohol and how it not only impairs their vision but also their balance and motor functions.
The Lima-Allen County Safe Community Coalition reached out to the Save a Life Tour with grant money to educate local schools about safe driving.
For the Save a Life Tour, they want the students to walk away knowing they can save a life, a tragic phone call to a parent, or save their own lives by making good decisions behind the wheel.
"We're not superheroes. We all bleed. So I guarantee you one day it will catch up to you, to all of us if we continue to do it," commented Titus Koso, instructor for Save A Life International.
The Lima-Allen County Safe Community Coalition reached out to the Save a Life Tour with grant money to educate local schools about safe driving.
