Richland One students learn about dangers of reckless driving

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — According to the National Safety Council, traffic collisions are the leading cause of death among teens in South Carolina.

With Prom weekend upon us, Eau Claire High School decided to use Distracted Driving Awareness Month as a time to warn students about the dangers on the roadways.

“Drinking and driving, seatbelt use and speed. Those are the things that are killing a lot of people, ” said Officer Bob Uhall with the Columbia Police Department.

Police officers say that distracted driving is resulting in a lot of accidents on South Carolina’s roadways.

“Phones are probably our worst enemy behind the wheel,” Uhall said. “We also stress seatbelts and general traffic safety laws.”

For teenagers learning or just starting to drive, the road can seem overwhelming.

“Highways and merging is what I’m afraid of,” said sophomore student Jaida Whitfield, who is just starting to learn how to drive.

“Being around other drivers. In our state, there’s a lot of difficult drivers,” said Eau Claire student Moses Wagner.

“Parking,” added classmate J’Nala Ackerman. “Especially parallel parking. That is really hard.” 

Thursday at Eau Claire High School, students used virtual reality technology to learn about staying safe behind the wheel.

The simulator taught new drivers about distracted driving and watching out for other vehicles.

“I did not enjoy that. It had cars coming every way,” Ackerman recalled. “A truck backed up on me. I hit a truck. It taught me how to be aware of my surroundings though.”

Students also simulated drunk driving with a golf cart, cones and Fatal Vision goggles.

“It wasn’t hard. Actually it was yeah with the glasses,” Whitfield admitted. “I couldn’t really see.”

“The golf cart hit a lot of cones,” Wagner said.

“You can’t see anything at all. It’s like being drunk,” Ackerman said. “Everything seems so close up but it get further away from you. It’s really scary.”

The Fatal Vision glasses are meant to simulate a blood alcohol content that is three times over the legal limit.

“Definitely don’t drink and drive,” the students agreed. “Drinking is not worth your life or another person’s.”

Officer Uhall also helped the students know what to do if they get pulled over as well as know what they should have with them at all times while driving.