Drinking And Driving Simulator From Arrive Alive Tour At Michigan Tech

The Arrive Alive Tour kept it closer to home recently, as they brought their drinking and driving simulator to Michigan Technological University. The students were able to experience the dangers of drunk and distracted driving, but in a controlled environment. The results shocked many participants!

Drinking and driving simulator - Arrive Alive Tour - Michigan Tech

Drinking and Driving Simulator

UNITE Corporation is behind the drinking and driving simulator, as the Arrive Alive Tour travels across the nation. The simulator takes a Jeep Patriot and uses Bluetooth sensors to have the steering wheel, gas and brake pedals working. The participants get behind the steering wheel wearing a virtual reality headset. It gives them the experience of “driving drunk” or texting while driving, but in a safe environment.

Student Reactions

During the stop at Michigan Tech, The Daily Mining Gazette attended and got the reaction from some of the students. One of those students was John Wyrzykowski, a third-year mechanical engineering student, who gave the simulator a try. He said, “It’s really cool technology. It seems like realistic depiction of what driving impaired is probably like.”

Besides the drinking and driving simulator, some of the students also tried out the texting while driving simulator. Arrive Alive Tour facilitator Ayron Austin said, “This gives a really nice hands-on activity way of doing it, instead of saying, ‘Hey, don’t do that.'” One of the students to try it out was Emily Rutledge, a second-year environmental engineering major. She said, “I thought I would have more control of the wheel, but I definitely didn’t. Even seeing the wheel was kind of blurry.”

The Consequences

The Arrive Alive Tour has three teams on the road right now. They make their way to high schools, colleges, military bases and corporations. Their message is to keep people and the roads safe from distracted driving and drunk driving. Besides the possibility of injury or death, these things can have an economic risk as well. A DUI conviction could cost people around $15,000 in court costs and legal fees, according to Austin.