Many of the students who crowded into Bunnell High School’s auto shop were experienced drivers, but quite a few were not. The occasion: the Peer Awareness Tour Safe Texting program, an all-day event held Feb. 28. More than 200 Bunnell and Stratford High School students tried their hand at driving — while texting.
Using a specially equipped compact car and visor headsets, the program took participants through a texting-while-driving simulation. The goal of the exercise is to demonstrate how difficult it is to do, and how texting impairs driving performance.
“Our message through programs such as these is, driving is tough enough — don’t add texting to the equation,” said Tammy Trojanowski, administrator for Stratford Community Services, which obtained a grant for the program as well as for education on drinking and prescription abuse. The program is sponsored by the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based PEERS Foundation.
“We all know how fast an automobile accident can happen,” Trojanowski said. “It takes just one serious accident to forever alter one’s life or end a life. Our message in this campaign is, whatever the message someone is sending us is, it can wait until we arrive at our destination safely.”
Mobile phones have been a great source of convenience for people today, but they also serve as a serious hazard for teen drivers. Studies show that texting while driving can be eight times more dangerous than drunk driving. As more research comes, more legislation is passed to make it illegal to text while driving.
The statistical evidence is pretty conclusive on the dangers of texting while driving. On average, a text takes five seconds to compose and send. Cruising along at 55 mph, a driver will traverse the length of a football field in that amount of time.
Moreover, according to the National Safety Council (NSC), about 1.6 million automobile accidents each year involve drivers using cell phones and texting. That is about one-fourth of the total car crashes in the United States. The NSC has called for a nationwide ban on driving while on cell phones or texting.
The texting experience
Bunnell’s auto shop hosted the event because it is the only school facility with a door wide enough to accommodate a car. While each student “drove,” others students observed, on computer monitors, what he or she saw.
On command, each participant had to send a text message while staying as close to the speed limit as possible. The car’s steering wheel, gas pedal and brake pedal were also equipped with sensors to record student driving performance. Most students had to slow down considerably while composing and sending a message.
Afterward, students gathered in groups for breakout sessions with teachers, administrators and other school officials. “This was a good eye-opener,” said Trish Tesla, the Stratford Police Department’s school resource officer at Bunnell High. “As a student resource officer, I see students texting while driving every day I’m at work. I think most of the kids who participated in this exercise now realize how dangerous that can be.”
According to Joe Crapanzano, an assistant principal at Stratford High School, several students admitted to having firsthand experience with texting while driving. Still others talked about using mobile phone applications that automatically block calls and texts while a car is in motion. AT&T DriveMode, CellSafety and tXtblocker are just a few of the apps now available.
“When they are driving, their phone will automatically send a message to the sender that the message will have to wait until they stop,” said Crapanzano. “That’s good problem-solving on the part of these students and their parents, and more of our students need to download these apps.”
All of the officials hope to see a replay of the exercise. “Students were quite sobered to learn that they weren’t as adept at texting while driving as they had thought — which is an important lesson,” said Tesla.
Trojanowski said the event was praised by students, teachers, administrators, and parents. While the phenomenon is usually associated with young drivers, adults have been shown to be just as careless in their driving habits.
“The timing for this exercise was perfect — right before prom season,” Crapanzano noted. He was one of two assistant principals from Stratford High School to attend the Feb. 28 event, but time precluded him from getting behind the wheel.
