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4 On Your Side: Distracted Driving

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EAST TROY - We've all done it: Texting and driving. You take your hands off the wheel for a few seconds--seconds that could be deadly. Drunk Driving is the culprit we all think of first in a crash--but did you know that distracted driving can be just as dangerous? In fact, distractions cause about 80% of all car crashes.

Teacher Barb Church worked with Wisconsin-based Innocorp to develop hands-on exercises--to teach teens just what can happen if you're not paying attention when you're on the road.

"If I can help other people not have to go through the suffering, I've done my job," Church explains.

One of the exercises is a simulated driving game. 16-year-old Zachary Maclary drives just fine when he concentrates on just that, but when he adds 'Fatal Vision' drunk goggles he says that all changes.

"All you can really see is the colors--you can't really see too much of anything else," Maclary says.

Next, Zach tries texting and driving. He says it's almost as hard as driving with the drunk goggles. "You can't really pay attention to both at the same time," he complains.

What makes this unique is the use of all kinds of hands-on activities to show kids the dangers of inattentive driving.

Another exercise is a simple matching game. 15-year-old Sammy Javorek has to match eight simple shapes while trying to text. It takes her almost 30 seconds! She says it proves how hard it is to do anything while texting--let alone driving!

"I think it was important we were shown this, cuz I don't think people knew it was as big a distraction as it really is," Javorek explains.

We all know teens aren't the best drivers on the road, but how are adults when it comes to multi-tasking? Pete Weber is a licensed driving instructor. He agreed to try the match game, while talking on a cell phone. He did not do very well. He says it's an important lesson for adult drivers.

"Drivers that have experience just kind of take for granted the driving task--they just drive like robots, and they think they can be distracted," Weber says.

In fact, studies show only about 2% of the population is able to safely multi-task while driving. Rich Kuchenbecker is the Deputy Chief of the Village of East Troy Police Department.

"Some people are better drivers than others--we see that every day. Or better multi-taskers than others. The biggest thing is we have to rely on our own abilities," Kuchenbecker says.

So next time you grab for the phone, or the G.P.S., or even look out the window at the lake--Kuchenbecker has a warning. "Anytime you take your hands, your eyes, and your attention off the roadway--you're distracted."

A lesson better learned with a game than in real life.

There's a bill going through the Wisconsin legislature right now that would ban texting and talking on cell phones while driving. If it does pass and you are caught--you could pay a fine.

 

Next Article in Special Assignments: On Your Side: Cell phone companies are watching you

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