May 17, 2019—The mock car crash held outside Bloomington (Ind.) South High School was meant to show the consequences of impaired or distracted driving. School officials hoped students would be more hesitant to get behind the wheel if they weren’t in a state to drive, according to The Chicago Tribune.
In 2016, almost 30 percent of all traffic-related deaths in the United States came from crashes in which alcohol was involved, according to a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dave Pruet, a security officer at South, told students that one out of every 10 U.S. teenagers drive while drunk on a regular basis, and that six teenagers lose their lives every day to drunken driving.
Bloomington Police Department Sgt. Pam Gladish, who was on hand for the presentation, reminded students that crashes don’t just happen because of substance abuse.
“The same thing can happen in real life if you’re texting,” or are otherwise distracted from watching the road, she said.
