Harrisville high schoolers learned about the dangers of drunk and distracted driving during a safety presentation planned by School Resource Officer, Sergeant Eric Schmitt.
“Spring is a great time of the school year to cover impaired and distracted driving,” explained Sgt. Schmitt. “The weather is warmer and kids become more active. It’s important to cover these topics now because prom and graduation are over the next couple months.”
Sgt. Schmitt works for the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, and is Harrisville’s dedicated SRO. He assisted with the “Save a Life Tour” presentation, which kicked off with a 20-minute video featuring a family who lost children in a car accident involving a drunk driver. After a discussion, students were able to operate two driving simulators; one for distracted driving and the other for impaired driving.
The distracted driving simulator replicated a student texting while behind the wheel. The impaired driving simulator started out showcasing sober driving for the first 25 seconds, then simulated what it would look like as your blood alcohol content increases, making it harder to drive by slowing down the reaction time for steering, gas pedal, and brake pedal functions.
We are grateful for the information and stories shared as we work together to keep our students safe, both inside and outside of school!
