Some Calgary high school students found out first hand just how important it is to stay focused when behind the wheel.
Steering around pylons is a simple task that most drivers would pass with flying colours, but throw in some distractions such as counting backwards, and it gets complicated.
With instructors from the Alberta Motor Association at their side, students from five high schools were given mental tasks like word associations, to perform while driving on an obstacle course at the Calgary police training track.
Ryan Cathcart, one of the students participating in the event, noticed the effect on his driving right away. “I had to drive significantly slower and was stopping more”, says Cathart.
Another student says the exercise was a big eye-opener, “You realize distracted driving makes a huge difference. If you’re paying attention you have that much bigger chance of surviving”, says Kevin Lowe.
Before they took the obstacle road test, the students produced videos about distracted driving, and challenged their classmates to take a pledge not to engage in risky behavior.
So far more than 10,000 students have signed it.
Take the pledge here.
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