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Teens are indestructible, or at least that’s what they think. Nothing bad is going to happen to them. And yet the number of teens injured and killed each year due to texting while driving continues to escalate, despite efforts to educate them about the dangers.
To drive the message home, Valdosta State University went one step farther Monday by bringing a texting and driving simulator on campus for students to try out. Rather than standing in a classroom lecturing about the dangers or handing out flyers listing the statistics, this hands-on demonstration was the best way to show students just how dangerous their phone habits can be.
The simulator, built into a car frame, prompted students to text while they were driving on a track. Students hit trees, buildings, cars and pedestrians on the simulator. Many said they had no idea how fast the car will travel in a short time. Even taking their eyes away for a couple of seconds made all the difference in whether or not they had an accident in the simulator.
Lessons like this need to be a permanent part of the culture at area schools.
Drunk driving simulators have been around for years, and teens are generally aware of the dangers, but texting is a relatively new phenomenon. Unfortunately, far too many are losing their lives before learning the lesson that driving while distracted by anything that takes their eyes off the road can be deadly.
Kudos to VSU for sponsoring the simulator for the students and the area high schools should consider doing so as well. Telling teens not to do something only makes it more attractive. Letting them find out on their own how dangerous texting is in a simulator may save their life one day on the highway.
What We Think
Texting can wait
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Thoughts on graduation
Graduation ceremonies reflect how life marches on. For the students receiving their diplomas and degrees, graduation is a culmination of the majority of their lives’ work.
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Thumbs up, thumbs down
THUMBS UP: To Dr. John Gaston, retiring dean of Valdosta State University’s College of the Arts. For the past 10-plus years, Gaston has worked to build a more interconnected program with various artistic and communications departments working together. Given that you are likely to see one College of the Arts department collaborating with another during events is proof of Gaston’s success.
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On the go this weekend
Take a breath.
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Sharing the roads with motorcycles
With the recent pleasant temperatures and sunny skies, the number of motorcycles on area roads has increased.
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Thank your local law enforcement today
Today, May 15, was designated Peace Officers Memorial Day back in 1962 when President John F. Kennedy was in office.
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Visit musical roots this weekend
Beginning Saturday, May 18, Nashville, Ga., will be hosting a special Smithsonian exhibit, “New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music.” The exhibit will continue through the end of June and Nashville has done a tremendous job in promoting and planning for the exhibit.
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Happy Mother’s Day!
A few years ago, a television commercial asked, Who first believed in you? Many folks may have instinctively answered by simply saying, Mom.
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Thumbs up
THUMBS UP: To mail workers, volunteers and food bank staff for gathering food for the annual Stamp Out Hunger postal food drive today. A plastic bag designated for canned goods and other non-perishable food items should have arrived in your mailbox earlier this week. If you haven’t already, take a few moments to fill the bag with food and hang from your mailbox. If you didn’t receive the special Stamp Out Hunger bag, any plastic bag filled with food will do. This food drive helps feed thousands of South Georgians annually. Valdosta-Lowndes County often donates more food than nearly all other cities and counties in Georgia.
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Celebrating nurses
She is considered the founder of modern nursing so it seems only natural that National Nurses Week would include Florence Nightingale’s birthday.
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Helping the hungry: Mail it in!
Valdosta-Lowndes County continues revealing its generous spirit.
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Thoughts on graduation
