Wadsworth High School Hosts Free Distracted Driver Simulator
ODOT Reminds Drivers: Stay Alert to Stay Alive Behind the Wheel
Wadsworth (Tuesday, December 27, 2011) – The Ohio Department of Transportation District Three will be bringing its Distracted Driving Simulator to Wadsworth High School on Wednesday, January 4th and Thursday, January 5th, 2012.
On January 4th, the simulator will be used by Business Management students that are studying automobile insurance. The simulator will be available to seniors during their study hall periods on January 5th.
The Distracted Driver Simulator Tour is part of ODOT’s comprehensive roadway safety campaign “Every Move You Make, Keep It Safe” which aims to educate Ohioans on how to use the roads safely – whether behind the wheel, behind the handlebars or on foot.
“Distracted driving is dangerous and has serious – even fatal – consequences,” said ODOT Director Jerry Wray. “In particular, cell phone use while driving is very risky and our new simulator tour will show Ohioans the real dangers and consequences of distracted driving.”
In 2010, Ohio law enforcement agencies reported 39 fatalities, 454 serious injuries and 12,410 crashes that were attributed specifically to distracted driving.
“Every time you take your eyes off the road – even for just a few seconds – you put your life in danger and you put others in danger too,” Allen Biehl, ODOT District 3 Deputy Director said.
Crashes cost Ohioans nearly $13 billion a year. About 40% of all serious injuries in Ohio occur at intersections. And, more than 50 percent of all fatalities involve roadway departure crashes. These crashes occur when drivers and riders leave the road and hit fixed objects such as trees and utility poles, or they leave the travel lane and sideswipe another vehicle or hit it head on.
ODOT’s new safety campaign is linked to the state’s overall goal of reducing roadway fatalities 5 percent by 2015. With nearly 300,000 crashes across Ohio in 2010 and more than 1,000 deaths, ODOT could help save 150 lives on Ohio’s roadways.
The distracted driver simulator experience challenges the participant to navigate city streets and highways while talking on the phone, sending a text message and listening to passenger conversations. Find out more by visiting www.everymove.ohio.gov.
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For more information contact:
Christine Myers, District 3 Communications, at (419) 207-7182