Speeding home from a late-night movie way past curfew. Thousands of texts rolling in from frantic parents. Looking away from the road for one minute then BANG! Collision right in the middle of an intersection. 

Safe driving is important and should be taken into consideration. There are three different types of distractions: visual, manual, and cognitive distractions. On Flex Wednesday, the students of Concord High School got the opportunity to participate in distracted driving simulators. During the process, all seats and steering wheels were disinfected in between students, following Covid protocols.

Students started their morning by filling out a survey in their first-hour flex. The survey covered road safety and what they would do in different situations. The Save a Life Tour program is helping students everywhere understand the dangers of texting and driving, driving under the influence, and drowsiness when driving. During the day, each class got an opportunity to come down to the gym and experience the driving simulators. In the gym, there were two simulators set up that allowed students to experience what it felt like to be driving under the influence and texting and driving. 

Many students enjoyed this and thought it was a great way to learn about the dangers. Sophomore Aidan Grandy mentions “I thought it was an interesting experience, and I’m glad I did it so I can know not to do drugs and drive.” The experience made many students understand the dangers of texting and driving and driving under the influence. 

Gwen Bulko, a sophomore here says, “The safe driving simulator was a very fun and informative experience. It was very cool and enjoyable to be all together as a grade, and get to bond over our experiences with the driving simulators. It gave us a chance to talk to people who we might not see or talk to, and to encourage our peers. It brought our grade together in multiple instances, such as cheering for Aidan Grandy or jokingly criticizing Ethan Newman. Not to mention, it was extremely helpful. People learn through trial and error, but that is dangerous when it comes to reckless driving. The driving simulator showed everyone how it is to be driving under the influence or driving distracted. Without the simulator, most of us would have thought it wasn’t that dangerous or difficult to drive drunk or distracted. However, the driving simulator gave us a real experience with the delayed response time and difficulty multitasking. It showed us what dire events could really happen, without the real life trauma or danger.” The experience was very helpful to the students of Concord. 

This experience would not have been able to happen without our principal, Ms. Price. She “wanted the Save A Life Tour to visit our school because all of us need to have our level of awareness raised. We cannot deliberately add distractions when we are driving. Our ability to drive from “here” to “there” depends on our ability to trust the other drivers on the road. I think about that any time I think about using my phone when driving. The other drivers cannot trust me to do my job on the road if I am not completely focused on driving.”  This is just one of the many examples of  Ms. Price’s sincere concern for the safety of our students. 

The simulators truly opened the eyes of our student body. It was an educational yet enjoyable learning experience about the dangers of driving.