Distracted driving simulator to be at NMCC High School

NEW MADRID, Mo. — Students at New Madrid County Central will get to see up close the impact of driving distracted.

On Oct. 25 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., a distracted driver simulator called the Augmented Reality Distracted Driving Education Simulator (ARDDES) with the Aware Distracted Driving Program will be at New Madrid County Central High School in New Madrid.

The simulator is being brought to school through the PEERS Foundation and the Missouri Department of Transportation.

According to study of the Best and Worst States for Teen Drivers by WalletHub, teen drivers in Missouri were ranked among the worst in the nation, coming in at 48. In an effort to change that statistic, the PEERS Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is taking the program to local schools with the help of funding from MoDOT.

“Missouri is the first state department of transportation to partner with us,” said PEERS Foundation’s Chairman of the Board Mike Seymore in a statement when the state’s federally funded National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) grant was announced. “The award will fund our program at ten schools that reported having less than 60% seatbelt use among teen drivers in 2018.”

ARDDES incorporates live teaching, video testimony and peer interaction with the driving simulator. Wearing an augmented-to-reality headset, the simulator challenges participants to make quick decisions regarding realistic distractions from upcoming traffic, pedestrians, passengers and cell phones while driving to avoid potential collisions.

The program will also will be at Kennett High School Oct. 21, Malden High School Oct. 22 and Caruthersville High School on Oct. 23.

https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-states-for-teen-drivers/4598/